Fate's Garden
by Rational Lunacy
Summary: Sasuke kills Naruto. Sasuke gets killed. They both end up in a new life, and then another life, and another...whoever said life for the children of gods was easy? Watch as they come into their divinity...NaruSasu.
1. Anomalistic: Chapter 1

**Fate's Garden**

Part 1 - Anomalistic

Chapter 1 - Jesus Powers Activate

* * *

"…and now I will kill you on a whim."

No…no. Sasuke god damnit. He was very aware of his friend's hand on his back holding them close to one another. It was intimate and yet threatening. There was the distinct ringing, and then click of a sword being drawn out of its sheath. He could feel that there was no real killing intent radiating off of Sasuke. He wasn't lying; he really was doing this on a whim. He couldn't care either way whether or not Naruto lived or died. He could hear Sakura calling to him, and to Sasuke trying to stop them. But all Naruto could seem to focus on was Sasuke's breath on his neck, and his hand on his back holding him flush against the other. He heard the sound, though it was brief and quick, of the sword whistling through the air coming straight for him. The initial pain was overpowering and he heard Sakura gasp, and Sai swear. Sasuke…said nothing. But as he felt Naruto go limp in his arms he didn't immediately let go. Naruto felt the numbness begin to take over; he was losing nearly all feeling and capability of supporting himself. He hated himself for it as he slumped against both his best friend and his murderer. One of the last conscious things he felt himself do was move closer against Sasuke, and nuzzle against his neck. Despite the situation he felt completely at peace.

"Sa-su-ke…" He panted, blood coming out of his mouth as he tried to talk, "I'm sorry…I…I didn't…save you."

"Naruto!" That was Sakura; he could hear her voice was wet. She was already crying no doubt. Maybe he should have dodged.

"Why do you keep thinking you need to save me, huh? I'm working towards one of my life's goals…to avenge my clan. After that I can come home, no rescuing required."

"Tha-t's…that's good to know." He was fading, he was almost gone. He had to say it, so much for pride, "I love you, Sasuke."

The body holding him up tensed but that was the only response he got. That decided it. He should have dodged. Kyuubi could fix a lot of things, but he couldn't fix death. That was that. The pain had been all consuming at first, but then in its place was an inexplicable numbness. A darkness enshrouded him and all of his senses dissipated. No longer was there touch, smell, sound, sight, taste. There was nothing. Naruto would have called it a peculiar feeling except that he knew that wasn't the truth of it. It wasn't a feeling, it was the absence thereof. It didn't last long however.

Suddenly he was pulled from one extreme to the other. In one moment he'd been in Sasuke's arms with the feel of his sword stabbing through his chest. Then he'd been in that abysmal nothingness. Now, now he was in a very comfortable bed. Sunlight was stabbing him in the eyes and he felt…different. It wasn't just him that didn't feel right; everything around him was out of place. A gentle breeze blew in through the window ruffling his hair, caressing his cheek. His eyelids fluttered open and he stared up at a ceiling that was not familiar to him in the slightest. Then there were the sounds. The 

noise of Konoha's hustle and bustle drifted in through the open window by his bed. A deep, heavy breathing emanated from the other side of the room. There was also noise coming from the floor below him, he was on a second floor? It sounded like someone cooking. Naruto peered around the room he'd woken up in and received several surprises that might have given him a heart attack. Maybe he'd die again? Wait…again? Did he die? But he felt alive. Where was he?!

Across the room, lying on the floor was a large orange fox with nine tails wrapped around it. It was sleeping calmly, shifting ever so often into a more comfortable position. As though it could feel his eyes on it, the fox awoke, blinking red irises with slit pupils at him. Naruto tried to reach for a kunai from his leg holster but it wasn't there. Damnit. The fox blinked at him again, but then it spoke.

"What are you staring at Kit?" The fox growled. Naruto shook his head, squeezed his eyes shut, and then opened them again. It was still there.

Naruto thought that the tiger sized fox in his room talking to him was a shock. But he had no idea that was the least of his problems. Another voice addressed him, this one much sleepier, and far more human. It was also so extremely familiar to him that Naruto was afraid to turn his head. No. He'd…he'd just left him behind right? Wherever they'd been? Naruto was still mostly confused about the 'why am I still alive' part.

"Naruto? Are you okay…?" The voice was much more awake now, and was slowly approaching him. "Naruto…?"

His breath caught in his throat, as he stared ahead at the lithe body standing in front of him. He didn't want to look up and see the face he knew was waiting for him. He couldn't but he didn't have a choice apparently. The boy bent over to bring his face in front of Naruto's, peering at him worriedly. The face of a much younger Sasuke was a few inches away from his, and it had morning breath.

"I'm…fine…I guess I just had a nightmare is all." He needed a moment or two to think this all over. There…he…what…

"Do you want me to get mom?" Sasuke asked him.

"…mom?" Naruto's head snapped up on his neck, suddenly staring at Sasuke in confusion he couldn't hope to hide. This Sasuke shook his head and went over to the door by the stretching Kyuubi.

He opened the door and leaned his head out it into the hallway beyond. He called, at the top of his lungs in a way Naruto had never heard him, "Moooooooom!"

"What sweetie?" A warm, feminine voice greeted him.

"Could you come here? Naruto's acting funny, he said he had a nightmare!"

"Coming!"

Naruto was frozen. Sasuke's mom was…dead. Itachi killed her. Years ago, when Sasuke was a little kid. His whole family had died. What was going on? Quick footsteps sped up the stairs that didn't sound too far away from the room they were in. Then the door pushed farther open and a woman Naruto didn't recognize at all stepped into view. She had long, thick red hair and blue eyes. Her warm, round face became creased with concern as she strode across the room towards him. Naruto was in so much shock, and confusion he had no idea what he should do. He was unable to move. She knelt on the floor in front of him, taking his hands into hers. Naruto had no idea who this woman was. But Sasuke had called her mom so…

"Baby boy, are you okay? Do you wanna tell me what your nightmare was about?"

Naruto couldn't bring himself to answer her. He stared at her with wide eyes. But the way her face grew more worried made him shake his head. She asked him again if he was sure that he didn't want to talk about it. Again he shook his head. She wrapped her arms around his shoulder and hugged him, and then she stood up and left the room. Naruto turned to face Sasuke and forced a smile onto his face that he did not feel.

"Sorry, I just had a really weird dream." He ruffled his hair and shuddered as if he was trying to shake the dream away. Sasuke frowned at him and demanded to know what it was about. So Naruto told him. He said he'd had a dream about an entire life that was completely different from this one, which ended with Sasuke killing him.

Sasuke merely stared at him, wide eyed. Kyuubi's eyes were narrowed disbelievingly, but not as if he didn't believe that Naruto was making things up. More like he didn't believe that everything Naruto'd just said was a dream. Naruto had no idea really what he should do except go with the flow. He'd figure things out as he went along. He doubted he'd figure out the 'why am I not dead' part in the course of the day, but he could learn a lot about everything else. He could learn, for instance, why the hell Kyuubi was walking around the room like a lethargic house pet. He could ask the fox himself, but he was afraid what questions that might bring into being. He also wasn't sure that he could trust the fox to keep his mouth shut about whatever Naruto told him.

Naruto decided he was going to go downstairs and find out whatever 'Mom' was cooking. He'd never had a Mom before, so this was bound to be an interesting experience. Sasuke followed him, as did Kyuubi. It was a good thing that as soon as he got down the stairs that the kitchen was immediately to his right. He didn't wanna look like he had no idea where anything was. That would only make his foxy companion more suspicious. The room was of a modest size, large enough for an l-kitchen with a bar long enough to fit four bar stools. He climbed up onto one and greeted the woman he guessed was the mother of both Sasuke and himself. She turned and smiled at him.

"It's good to see you looking back to your normal self. You definitely gave your brother a scare."

"I wasn't scared Mom." Sasuke scowled as he took the stool next to Naruto's. Kyuubi settled into a comfortable heap on the floor.

"Oh, okay tough guy."

Naruto could tell she was being sarcastic with him just to ruffle his feathers. But Sasuke took to the bait and growled. She taunted him with a plate of pancakes and he ended up giving in. Naruto happily took a plate as well and dug in. He searched the kitchen with his eyes for a ramen cup, but upon not finding one decided that the pancakes were good and he could live without ramen for the moment. Mom kept glancing at the clock on the wall, her eyebrows knitted together.

"Honey, didn't you say you had some sort meeting you two had to be at today?"

"Oh yeah! Today's the day we get our jounen-sensei Naruto! Hurry up; we're supposed to be there in twenty minutes!"

Oh no. He would be meeting Kakashi-sensei again…wait, again? God this was going to get more confusing the longer this went on. He _needed_ to find some things out. He couldn't necessarily just start talking to Kyuubi inside his head like he was used to doing. The fox was outside his body. Why he was being so well behaved he had no idea. Naruto lifted up his shirt and stared at his stomach, the seal was there, but Kyuubi was on the floor. He glanced over at the fox and saw as he rolled onto his side, the seal on the fox's stomach. This wasn't making a lot of sense. While he was busy brooding over the current situation, Sasuke had wolfed down his breakfast and shot back up the stairs to get ready. Mom was cleaning up the breakfast mess and had knowingly taken Naruto's plate already.

"Kit, you're staring again." Kyuubi announced. Naruto glared.

"Oh, good morning Kyuubi. Have a good night's sleep?" Mom greeted, leaning over the counter to look down at the fox demon.

"Good morning Kushina." He got up and stretched some, as he seemed prone to do, "I slept just fine. But I woke up to the yellow furred kit staring at me."

"Naruto, sweetie, it's impolite to stare." 'Kushina' stuck her tongue out at him and Naruto returned the gesture.

"I'm gonna go get ready, too." He paused at the doorway before turning to face the red headed stranger, "Thanks for breakfast…Mom."

She smiled at him warmly though it didn't quite reach her eyes, she could tell something wasn't quite right. "You're welcome, dearheart."

With that he started to trek up the stairs, noticing that Kyuubi followed him. Maybe they were bound to each other in this place too? Wherever this place was. He was still trying to figure it out. It was apparent they were in Konoha, but it must be a completely different universe because Sasuke and him had never really be brothers. Nor had either of them had mothers at this age, and Naruto had never had a mother to begin with. Something was very weird about this world Naruto had landed himself in. Suddenly as he reached the top of the stairs a gravely voice filled his head, yet he knew he wasn't really hearing it with his ears. He turned and looked down the stairs at the Kyuubi who was staring right at him.

_You're not the same kit as was using that body last night._ The voice said. It wasn't a question. Kyuubi knew. Of course he knew. They were bound to each other, even if they didn't share the same body in this world.

_Probably not. I have no idea what's going on here. I thought I was dead, and then I woke up here._ Naruto replied.

_Hmm. This isn't the world you belong in. You shouldn't be here._

Naruto continued on his way into the room he shared with Sasuke. Said boy was currently strapping a kunai pouch to his leg and dressing himself in an outfit Naruto never remembered him wearing before. Sasuke prattled on to him about who was probably gonna be with who with what sensei. Naruto vaguely listened while he spoke to Kyuubi in his mind. He was very accustomed to holding up a conversation with Kyuubi while talking to someone else at the same time. He'd had to do it all his life. Naruto wandered over to the dresser that was on what he guessed was his side of the room. In it were clothes he never thought he'd wear. Ever. But he put on some that would probably look normal for 'this' Naruto. Then he started inspecting the gear he assumed was his. Not too bad. Definitely the weaponry and packs of a genin. Nevertheless he put them on and followed Sasuke down the stairs, Kyuubi following him.

_Tell me more about this world so I don't screw up. And why aren't you sharing my body? Why can you walk around with me like this?_ Naruto started.

Sasuke led the way down the hall past the kitchen and through an entryway into the living room. Their mother was sitting on the couch filling up her own kunai pouches, picking and choosing between some different thrown weapons by their sharpness. Sasuke went over to her and hugged her and kissed her forehead as if he'd done it all his life. Naruto forced himself to keep from gaping. His Sasuke hadn't ever willing done something like that…not for as long as he'd known him. But…then again, maybe this was how he'd been before his real mother died? Sasuke rushed past him and down the hall, probably towards the front door. Sure enough there was the sound of a door opening, but none of it closing.

"Naruto! Hurry up and say bye to mom! We need to go!" Sasuke called, obviously waiting for him

Naruto shuffled his feet awkwardly. He knew he did sort of have a time limit here. But…this wasn't _his_ mom. Either way, he supposed for now he did have a part to play here. He picked up his feet and quickly hugged 'Mom', and bade her goodbye. Before he could completely detach she pressed a kiss to his cheek. Then she patted his back, pushing him towards the door. She wished him good luck but he didn't respond. He wasn't really sure what exactly he was supposed to do here.

"Make sure you don't help him too much, Kyuubi. He's a big boy, he can do things for himself." Kushina laughed good-naturedly.

"Of course. Kits must learn to care for themselves after they leave the burrow, this does not happen if they do not hunt for themselves once in a while." Kyuubi agreed.

"Narutooooo! Hurry uuuuup!" Sasuke's voice was impatient, so Naruto followed it to the front door.

As soon as Sasuke had him in sight he grabbed a hold of Naruto's hand and shot out the front door. Naruto barely contained the yelp that leapt into his throat. His _brother_ lovingly dragged him all the way through town towards the ninja academy. The crowds parted for them, and Naruto was astonished when no one glared at them. In fact, most of the adults merely chuckled. Maybe in this universe they were better at hiding their hatred for him? As Naruto kept up with the one dragging him he glanced over his shoulder to check on Kyuubi. Sure enough, the orange fox was loping along easily behind them. When they passed by a clock, Naruto noticed that it was a good fifteen minutes after Sasuke claimed they were supposed to already be at the meeting. Oh well. It wasn't like they could send him right home instead of getting a sensei…right? That's what he was hoping anyways.

When they bolted through the front door of the familiar ninja academy Naruto was filled with a heavy sense of dread. Would they notice…any of them? As Kyuubi had said, he wasn't the same Naruto that they knew. In fact, he was technically four and a half years older than the Naruto they knew. Sakura always chided him for being immature, but he was definitely more mature than a twelve year old. He hoped so, at least. The way he was raised (by a fox demon in his brain, and in a village that hated him), his perception was bound to be a little bit distorted. The two of them clattered into the classroom, almost toppling over. Kyuubi blithely padded in behind them, appearing far more graceful. He muttered something under his breath about what 'clumsy kits' they were. Everyone in the room was now staring at them as if they were used to these sort of antics by now.

"Ah. Late as usual Misters Namikaze? I see you're only fifteen minutes late today! A new record!" Iruka-sensei teased from the front of the room, "Maybe one day you'll only be five minutes late!"

"But I don't want the world to end, sensei!" One voice chirped amidst the sea of students. Naruto recognized the voice but he couldn't place it exactly.

The room erupted in snorts and chuckles, and Sasuke rolled his eyes flippantly. Shoulders hunched in a slightly defensive manner he and Naruto found a seat down by the front that quickly emptied for them. Were both he _and_ Sasuke shunned in this world? Why would they be? Either way this Sasuke seemed rather defensive of this world's Naruto. He glared at everything and everyone that so much as breathed wrong around them. Naruto was so focused on this odd behavior that he almost missed the reading of the first few genin cells. They were the same as Naruto remembered. When it came time for the assigning of Naruto and Sasuke's team, the reading was a little different, but the people in the group were the same.

"Team seven, Haruno Sakura, and Sasuke and Naruto Namikaze. Jounen sensei, Hatake Kakashi."

There was a commotion a few tables away from them, and Naruto's gaze scrambled across the room to find it. There was Sakura, sitting amidst a crowd of girls, including Ino who sat right next to her. Unlike the last time, Sakura wasn't cheering enthusiastically. Instead she was looking a little bummed out, like she'd gotten the worst deal out of everyone. In fact, the girls around her were patting her shoulder in sympathy, cooing words of reassurance. Was Sasuke _not_ stalked religiously in this world? Why the hell not? He still looked the same. Had this Naruto accidentally rubbed some of his loser status off on the former Uchiha? After all, in this world they were brothers.

As the various teams filtered out when their jounen-sensei arrived, Sakura remained on the far side of the classroom, ignoring their presence. She looked as if someone had told her Christmas was cancelled. Naruto noticed that she had short hair, like she'd had when she was older in his world. That was a definite sign that this Sakura didn't like this Sasuke. Naruto turned to survey his _brother_ again. His hair was still shaped into the duck-butt cowlick that the girls seemed to love so much. Instead of proudly donning the Uchiha mon, he wore a t-shirt that bore the design of a cartoon Naruto remembered watching a great deal when he was younger. Of course he didn't have a TV then, so he'd had to watch it on the TV's in the case at the electronics stores. But all the same he'd enjoyed it. The thing that struck Naruto the most was that this Sasuke kept fidgeting with his bangs, and pushed them behind his ears. When the crowd left that'd he'd been glaring at, he took off the angry mask and mellowed out. At the moment he merely looked bored, waiting for their sensei…that was the last of them to show.

An hour or so after everyone, including Iruka-sensei, had left the paper door slid open. In walked a rather lethargic Kakashi-sensei. He greeted them in his typical one handed salute as the other hand was preoccupied with his favorite orange book. However when his eyes came to rest on Naruto and Sasuke his shoulders drooped slightly.

"I can't believe Minato-sensei gave me you two. What was he thinking?" The one eye that they could see rolled at them.

Sakura had yet to say a word, but at Kakashi's statement she exclaimed, "The yondaime was your sensei?"

"Yes."

Naruto froze. He couldn't help it. He was trying to make himself move, and follow his brother and Sakura towards the door. But…but…what he'd just heard had made his muscles turn to stone. Sasuke, after noticing that Naruto wasn't at his side, came back to the classroom to get him. He stood in front of Naruto impatiently, glaring.

"Narutooo, c'mon. I've waited an hour for Kakashi-sensei to get here, I'm not gonna wait another hour for you to get off your lazy butt and come with us." Sasuke grumbled petulantly.

"I'm…I'm coming."

Through a huge force of will, Naruto managed to stand up and follow Sasuke out of the classroom until they were caught up with their new 'sensei' and Sakura. The fourth hokage…was his father? How could…but…

Would wonders never cease?

**TBC…

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A/n: Soooo...there's the first chapter. As it's own story now. So I'm going to go remove that preview from the end of MW. :D


	2. Anomalistic: Chapter 2

**Fate's Garden**

Part 1 - Anomalistic

Chapter 2 - Haha, you're a duck-butt!

* * *

_Okay, let me see if I've got this right._

_Alright._

_The fourth hokage, is my father, and he married a former nin of the whirlpool village. _

_Yes._

_Because the fourth lived through the sealing, which occurred differently in this world as you and I are bound but you are outside of my body…_

_Yes._

_He stopped Itachi and…Madara?_

_Correct, Madara was the initial cofounder of Konoha, and the founder of the Uchiha clan._

_He stopped them from leaving after the Uchiha massacre by killing both. My…mom, er, Kushina…took in Sasuke shortly after so that he wouldn't go to a family that would think he was weird?_

_Yes._

_And as far as anyone knows there has been no sign of activity with the Akatsuki or Orochimaru?_

_Correct._

_God this place is weird._

_To you, maybe. But to us, the world you described sounds just as 'weird' if not more so._

* * *

After the introductions Sasuke and he had returned 'home' to a drool worthy lunch of homemade ramen. Naruto had never imagined that he might find ramen better than Ichiraku's but…life was full of surprises. When asked about the meeting, Sasuke had answered for the both of them he talked so much. Naruto couldn't remember Sasuke ever being this chatty unless he was explaining what he was going to do to you before he killed you, and just how much it would hurt; or, unless he was talking about how he was going to avenge his clan some day. That was definitely the longest rant in all of history. It got longer each time you asked about it, and sometimes new, uninteresting details were thrown in. All of it was spoken in a low, hateful way that was almost monotonous after he reached a certain part. Naruto had made a habit at one point of initiating the rant after a long tired day on a mission just so he could get to sleep faster when they'd made up camp. Sasuke had never figured out Naruto's nefarious plot, despite however clever he might have been. Naruto wasn't really surprised by the way Kakashi had acted, or that he was the former student of the yondaime…or anything like that. Sasuke seemed thrilled about it, commenting on how if Kakashi annoyed them, he could always get him in trouble with their Dad. No, the things that surprised him more was how the introductions had gone.

"My name is Sakura Haruno. I like manga, sparring, and hanging out with my best friend Ino. I _hate_ being stuck on a team with the two hugest losers of the school, even if they are the hokage's sons. My dream is to someday become the head medic nin at the hospital in Konoha."

"My name is Sasuke Namikaze. I like training, pulling pranks with my brother, and my mom's dumplings. I _hate_ being stuck on a team with the popular girl who makes fun of my brother and I incessantly because she's too vain and has nothing better to do! My dream is to someday become head of the ANBU so I can protect my brother when he's hokage!"

Here it was. Naruto's turn. He'd had to confirm some things with Kyuubi but he managed to introduce himself just fine he thought. "My name is Naruto…Namikaze. I like training with my family, pulling pranks with my brother of course, and all of my mom's cooking! Um…I don't really know what it is that I don't like off hand. My dream is to become hokage, just like my Dad."

He'd had trouble coming up with something he hated so vehemently. There were quite a few things that Naruto loathed. Like Itachi Uchiha for driving his younger brother into an 'I must avenge!' frenzy that would span his entire lifetime. He hated Orochimaru for taking Sasuke in as his groupie. He hated the village sometimes for hating him and stabbing his childhood in the heart. But, all of those feelings were his, not this Naruto's. They wouldn't really make sense. Though Kyuubi offered up some examples for him, such as hating Sakura and Ino and their little 'clique' in this world, he couldn't say it. His first and foremost instinct was to ignore Sakura's bitchy attitude and wait for her to become the kind, caring person he knew she was. But…there was also the troubling thought that maybe she wouldn't grow out of it. Maybe in this world she really was stuck like this. She wouldn't ever become the Sakura he knew from his…home…world. His sister, his best friend, whom had grown into an extremely powerful medic nin and never let him down. He sighed.

While the truth of the matter that their 'survival training' the next day would either let them continue as three of _nine_ official genin didn't shock him in the slightest, it certainly gave Sasuke and Sakura a heart attack. Both of them pouted and scowled as they took their printouts. Naruto ignored it for the most part, staring out over the town from their perch up on a higher crest where they'd met in Naruto's world too. Then, when they got home, Sasuke had more than enough to say about their jounin sensei. He also reminded their mother that they were not eating breakfast the next day so they wouldn't throw up at their survival training. Kushina's eyes twinkled, and at that instant Naruto was sure she knew the real reason behind why they weren't eating breakfast. The fact that she didn't enlighten Sasuke was both frustrating and amusing. Mostly he was hoping she would tell Sasuke so that they would both end up eating anyways out of self-preservation. But no, she just let it slide right past him. God damnit. He'd have to sneak down early the next day and get some breakfast. There was no way he was suffering through that twice.

Thankfully, their mother didn't comment on Naruto's silence. He asked Kyuubi, and it turned out this Naruto was the quieter of the two. Probably because the speed at which Sasuke talked, there was no way that Naruto could get a sentence in edgewise. He found this both hilarious and annoying. He 

wasn't sure how long he'd be able to last with a Sasuke who talked faster than Ino and Sakura combined. In the middle of their lunch, their _Dad_ entered the kitchen. Naruto hadn't heard the front door open or close, but he guessed that Sasuke's rapid speech might have drowned it out.

Naruto had managed, over the course of the day, to smother most of his reactions to things. This was becoming increasingly helpful as more and more things showed up that would have made him keel over in a dead faint. One such thing was the legendary yondaime of his world standing in the kitchen, speaking with them jovially. Sasuke was already shifting his word vomit trajectory to their father, the poor sod. Naruto shook his head.

"Dad, dad, guess what?!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"Sasuke, Sasuke, what?!" Minato retorted, obviously used to this sort of verbal assault.

Naruto chuckled, and Sasuke, completely unfazed, carried on with his explicating.

"Kakashi Hatake is our jounin sensei!"

Minato's eyebrows lifted marginally and chuckled, "I know Sasuke, I'm the one that assigns the jounin-sensei to their genin cells, remember?"

Sasuke paused, blushing slightly, "Oh yeah."

"He also came to my office a little bit ago whining about how you and your third teammate were glaring each other to death."

"Well what did he expect? We got landed with Sakura Haruno!"

Naruto was starting to wonder if he'd ever regain his hearing completely. The volume and rapidity at which Sasuke spoke was painful to sit next to. He cringed slightly but decided to not let any further reaction come from it. This Naruto was probably used to it. So he should be used to it. He grumbled inwardly.

"Oh, that girl that always gives you and Naruto trouble at school?" Minato clarified as he accepted a bowl of ramen from his wife.

"Trouble? She makes fun of us nonstop and makes sure that all of her friends do too!"

"Well, make fun of her back." Minato shrugged.

"Honey, don't encourage them like that." Kushina scolded. Her husband shrugged again and came to sit next to his sons at the bar.

"But we do, Dad, it doesn't matter, they don't listen to us." Sasuke pouted.

Minato grumbled and whined conspiratorially with his raven haired son until it seemed Sasuke had worn himself out with his own talking. Naruto thought the inhalation of so much ramen might have 

also put him into a sleepy stupor, or perhaps it had been a little of both. Either way, Sasuke ended up crawling up the stairs to the bedroom so he could take a nap. Naruto was about to follow him when his 'dad' started talking to him. So far, Naruto had been using his brother as a security blanket. For some reason, in this world, they tended to see him instead of Naruto, so he didn't have to act so much. But now he'd been cornered he couldn't necessarily say 'I gotta go, bye!' to his parents and jet up the stairs. So he stayed behind and climbed back up onto the bar stool. Kyuubi was watching him in amusement and Naruto glared.

"So, now that the chatterbox has worn himself out, how bout I hear how _your_ day went." Minato chuckled.

"It went okay." Naruto started. But when his dad continued staring at him, Naruto realized he expected more than a one sentence answer.

"Well, I mean. I don't think Sakura and Sasuke are going to get along at all. But if maybe he didn't react so quick to her she'd give up. I think she only does it to get a rise out of him."

"I think you're probably right. But you know how your brother is…"

"…like a puddle of whiskey just waiting for a lit match to come along?" Naruto offered.

Both his 'parents' laughed whole heartedly. He'd done well. The funny thing was…that's exactly how Kakashi had described Naruto once. In his world, he'd been the puddle and Sasuke the match. But not in this reality, here Sakura was the match and Sasuke was the puddle. Naruto couldn't believe how different this version of himself was. As he carried on a warm, easy going conversation with his parents, Naruto was torn between telling them the truth and continuing this little act.

_Not yet Kit. Wait._

_But if I tell them, especially the yondaime he can help prevent things that might still happen in this reality!_

_Like what?_

_Like the invasion of the sand nin during the chuunin exam, akatsuki, Orochimaru showing up?! Any of that ring a bell?_

_Kit. Think about it. If your offspring suddenly told you they weren't really yours anymore, that you were the soul of some other reality's version of them…and you'd punted your version's soul out on accident…_

_Okay! Okay I get it!_

Naruto yawned, hoping his parents would let him go finally. They relented after another few minutes of extra prodding. He nudged Kyuubi in the hip with his foot and headed for the stairs. He 

should have realized that the fox would follow him with or without prodding, but he forgot. Kyuubi had described to him on their way home that part of the seal was a sort of leash that no one but other demons or jinchuuriki could see. It was a single cord wrapped around Naruto's ankle that also wound around Kyuubi's. The farthest Kyuubi could be from him before he was tugged along was at the base of the stairs while Naruto was at the top. This helped when Naruto had to go to the bathroom and such, but also ensured he didn't get too far. It was a rather smart idea, Naruto thought.

He opened the door to his bedroom and slipped inside, allowing Kyuubi in after him before he shut the door. Sasuke was sprawled out on his bed belly down. His head was turned so that Naruto only saw the duck-butt. He felt strongly compelled to tell _someone_ what happened. He reasoned that telling Sasuke would help because they interacted more and would be spending far more time together. Kyuubi warned him that he shouldn't. The 'dark furred kit' would merely run to the 'vixen' and tell her everything he'd learned. There was the slight chance that Kushina wouldn't believe him, or tell him to go back to sleep. But they couldn't rely on that. Naruto sighed heavily, eyes still glued to his 'brother'. He shuffled over to Sasuke's bed, tempted to crawl up onto the bed and snuggle against his back. The urge was so strong, and alien to him that Naruto took a few steps back. That wasn't him, was it? He didn't normally take a look at Sasuke and want to…_cuddle_…did he? Geez, even saying the word was painful. That didn't stop his body from moving back towards the bed and acting against his will. Soon he was lying on the bed, molded to Sasuke's back as if he'd done it for years. They fit together perfectly, Naruto's left arm just under Sasuke's shoulder, and the other over the top of his waist. Sasuke shifted slightly, so he could glance at his brother over his shoulder.

"Naru…you okay?"

"Yeah." Naruto wished the embarrassment of the position would force his body to move, but it didn't. "Why?"

"Nothing…it's just…you haven't cuddled like this in years…except that one time but you were really hyped up."

"I'm fine…it's just…my nightmare." That was the only answer Naruto could find to that statement.

"Oh, that really got to you huh?"

"Yeah…you have no idea."

"Well…wake me up if you have another nightmare like that, m'kay?"

"Kay."

After that Sasuke let his head fall back onto the pillow, trying to press back against Naruto so they could somehow be even closer. Naruto had to scoot them forward so they wouldn't fall back off the bed after a few minutes of Sasuke's insistent wiggling. Once they'd finally gotten into a position that pleased the duck-butt, it fell asleep instantly. Naruto refrained from chuckling just in case it woke him 

up. Naruto wanted to stay awake and interrogate Kyuubi for even more details about this life, but he was finding himself to suddenly be very sleepy. As soon as his forehead came to rest in the feathers of the duck-butt he was dead to the world.

"What the fuck are you doing, dobe?!"

That was how he woke up: a very Sasuke-like indignant screech paired with being kicked off the bed. Naruto squinted at the Sasuke he'd just been curled up with on the bed, instantly he knew something was different. No…he shouldn't get his hopes up. But that's when Kyuubi stood up and Sasuke gave him that look of complete disbelief. Before he could fully form a Chidori Naruto tackled him and held him down. Sure enough, his sharingan was activated. This…this was…

"Sasuke, what's the last thing you remember?!" He questioned, unable to keep the excitement out of his voice.

"Being killed by that stupid ANBU friend of yours, that you replaced me with…" Sasuke trailed off, probably horrified by the insane grin that had spread across Naruto's face.

"Thank god it's you!" Naruto breathed.

"Why wouldn't it be me, dobe? If you try to spoon me again I'm going punch you in the balls with a Chidori…"

Yes, this was his Sasuke. The one that killed him just that morning…er, whatever. This Sasuke hated him, enough to kill him 'on a whim', but now he was here, and Naruto had never felt such profound relief in all his life. But…after that relief washed away…he was left with a resounding 'How the fuck did he get here…?'

**TBC…**


	3. Anomalistic: Chapter 3

**A/n:** Before you say anything, yes I suckered onto the idea about that chinese myth you suggested. Yes it was originally your idea, I was not clever enough to come up with it on my own. But I did some half-hearted research on the topic at around oh, say, 1am this morning as I was finishing this up. So ha. Yes, that's what it is. You are a bottomless pool of inspiration for me, HARPGO, oh favored and cherished one. :D

* * *

**Fate's Garden**

Part 1 - Anomalistic

Chapter 3 - Rosie the Robot Maid

* * *

Heh…he'd done it. He could feel the first stirrings of power within him. He'd…he'd actually killed him. The raw strength that coursed through his earthly body distracted him at first from the overwhelming tidal wave of feeling he would experience shortly. The other three surrounding him were in as much shock as he. Their eyes wide, their jaws slack…_just as limp as the body in my arms…_That was it, really. That feeling of him in his arms that made Sasuke shudder and convulse with a feeling he couldn't really understand. Why…why had he just taken the blow? Why didn't he dodge the attack? Sasuke was, for the first time left floundering like a fish out of water gasping for air that would not be given to him so mercifully. He…he'd…_dead, he's dead, you killed hi-you killed- you…_

His hand loosened around the hilt of his sword which remained impaled in between two ribs. A chill that left him uncomfortably aware of every nerve ending in his body hovered around his heart. His heart seemed to be beating outside and inside of him at the same time. It was fighting its way out and then back in. It couldn't decide which was a better way to torture the body it belonged to. Sasuke felt him slip from his grasp and fall with a torturous _THUD_ to the ground. Then…then, first it was a punch. A well placed force of motion that collided with his jaw and sent him flying through the air. Then it was a wall that caught him roughly and painfully, bruising him, and embracing him with rich, intricate pains. None, however, were as extreme as the enthralling agony that was the dawning comprehension he now found himself buried within. He had really killed him. Naruto…was…dead. He'd, he hadn't dodged. Why hadn't he dodged?! That was there game; (_Tag! You're it! Your turn to punch and my turn to dodge!_) An eternal fight with neither party winning. It was a rivalry, a joke almost because neither could really best the other. They merely fought because they could, and they wanted to, and they knew that it would most likely never end. They would fight for the rest of their lives, and they were okay with it. But now, now he'd ended the fight. He had gone against the unconscious agreement set up years ago. He had violated it, broken it, and now he was suffering for it.

As he was beaten and sliced open, both by the guilt in his head and the grieving people around him, Sasuke saw it. In an involuntary moment of self-protection Sasuke was somewhere else. He was not in that crater where Sakura was pounding him senselessly with her fists that glowed blue with her finely controlled chakra. Nor was he being sliced to ribbons with Sai's short sword. He wasn't even being constricted by the wood of Kakashi's substitute whom Sasuke did not recognize. Instead he was in a garden, one lit by an ethereal glow as soft and gentle as moonlight. Curious silver orbs danced about him in the air, illuminating this strange place further. A few paces away there was a small pond with an even smaller island in its center. This island was no more than three feet in diameter, large enough for one small red bench, an impossibly old man, a bag swollen with red thread, and one mass of clay. There was also a graceful tree set behind this bench that was tall enough to shade the man while he sat. Its slender, supple branches were white as snow, their feather-like leaves golden yet faded. A wide red bridge of cracked and aged wood crossed the short distance between the shores of the island and the rest of the garden. Sasuke approached it carefully. The closer he came the more he saw, and as the man looked up at him he knew suddenly he was not supposed to be there. This man, old, older than time stared at him with questioning and slightly reprimanding eyes. In his hands were two finely molded clay figures. Sasuke recognized them immediately: they were Naruto and he. Around Naruto's and his ankle a red string was tied. This string was so long that it drooped down to touch the ground in between the man's feet. Carefully, the man set the two figurines down on the shore facing each other, the red string pooled in a tangled mess in between them. Then, he reached down to the clay and grabbed two more blobs of it and began shaping both separately with one hand.

Sasuke's eyes remained on the two, small caricatures of himself and Naruto and noticed the two were smiling at each other. His face scrunched up, twisting into an expression of concentration. Were the two small statues getting closer to each other or was he imagining things?

_CRUNCH._

Sasuke stared absently up at the expressionless face of Sai. Something sharp and painful had sliced cleanly into his neck and was now lodged there. He could feel his life drain away. It was a slow, amusing concept. He could see himself now, an outline with a red filling lessening until all that was left was an empty shape. Next to his body there would be robotic words illuminated that read 'Life force at 0 percent'. He would laugh because it was like a cartoon almost until he knew that it was real and that he was, invariably, dead.

* * *

The next thing Sasuke knew, Naruto was lying on a bed behind him with his arms around his waist. The last thing he remembered was having the shit beat out of him by his replacement, Kakashi's, and Sakura. All three of them had made sure he died a very painful death. The funny thing was that he'd endured it and hadn't fought back. Then he remembered the other pain, the feeling that had rocketed through him and told him what he'd done. He tensed. He didn't want to think about that. That feeling was contagious and all consuming and worse than pain and…whatever. He'd ignore it. That's what he did, he ignored things. But what he _wouldn't_ ignore was Naruto cuddling him like he was some kind of stuffed animal, or security blanket. He forced Naruto's arms off of him and kicked him across the room.

"What the fuck are you doing, dobe?!" He demanded shrilly. Why was his voice so high? He forced the blush away from his face to…maybe his arms or his back or…or, never mind. Dobe, stay on track.

His gaze drifted lazily across the room until it reached a large, easily distinguishable fox with nine tails. Sasuke couldn't repress his shock, and admittedly his eyes widened a great deal. Kyuubi…outside of Naruto? That was one thing he'd found out before killing the dobe…_killing…you KIL_- NEVER MIND. Sasuke shook his head, summoning a chidori easily but he never managed to finish because Naruto tackled him to the bed. He'd forgotten to activate his sharingan, but at the force of being taken down onto the bed it appeared on its own through habit.

"Sasuke, what's the last thing you remember?!" Naruto questioned desperately.

Honestly? The last thing he remembered was thinking about how feeling the life drain out of him and the sword in his neck was kind of like a cartoon, until he noticed that everything was real and he was dead. Haha, how funny. No, he couldn't say that. Despite his vast reserves of will power ready and waiting to be called forth, a shiver escaped and rattled through his frame. Naruto was eyeing him intently, almost pleadingly, and Sasuke knew he needed to answer him. At least the look on Naruto's face informed him that the blond hadn't noticed his brief shudder.

"Being killed by that stupid ANBU friend of yours, that you replaced me with…" Sasuke trailed off, if only because the manic grin that spread across Naruto's face was sort of like the most horrifying thing he'd ever seen. It sort of reminded him of Orochimaru's when he was about to go experiment on some poor undeserving soul. Only…this one was related to entirely different circumstances that were far less diabolical, or so he hoped.

"Thank god it's you!" Naruto breathed.

Sasuke was coated instantly in a feeling he couldn't quite place. Naruto was happy that it was him. Though the question now was why wouldn't it be. Just who had Naruto thought he was spooning exactly? If they looked like him, then why would Naruto ever imagine embracing them in such an undignified and intimate way? He _would_ find out. But, the most involuntarily appreciated part of this was that the relief in Naruto's expression was so immense. It was nice to know that, emotionless façade and rivalry aside, Naruto was grateful, relieved, and possibly euphoric to see him. Sasuke forced the threatening tone into his voice as he became more aware of Naruto's hands on his shoulders, pinning him to the bed.

"Why wouldn't it be me, dobe? If you try to spoon me again I'm going to punch you in the balls with a Chidori…" Sasuke started, but once again he was forced to leave his sentence incomplete.

Naruto was no longer gazing at him with heartfelt joy and was instead suddenly with an immeasurable depth of confusion. Sasuke arched a brow at him. A voice that was neither Sasuke's nor Naruto's filled the room, and for a moment he panicked. But then Naruto gripped him firmly by the shoulders and gave him a warning glare. He kept still and listened as the voice he knew could only belong to the fox near the door began speaking casually with Naruto.

"Kit, there is no need to worry. The dark furred one followed you to this reality because your soul is also here." Kyuubi intoned dispassionately, "I also know why exactly this is so relevant. Do not fear, it is not anything that requires your concern or curiosity."

"So…the other Sasuke is…?"

"Gone forever? Punted out of his body so that the two of you may remain together? Unnecessarily separated from his body and replaced with another soul for your subconsciously self-"

"Fine, fine! Shut up, I get it already!" Naruto growled.

If it was so possible, the fox smirked. This appeared as a mere hefting at one corner of the fox's lips and a narrowing of his eyes. Sasuke glared. It was his default. If in doubt, act angry. He used to do it as a way of protecting himself from unwanted conversations. But after a while it became the expected reaction so he was now forced to act that way even if sometimes (_rarely_) he didn't want to. For example, at the moment he was extremely confused. But could he show that on his face? No, he couldn't. Instead he had to show this with words that sounded angry. It was pointless, he knew, but it was what was expected and so he must live up to it. Naruto would understand the real meaning anyways. He could always read him flawlessly. Well, almost flawlessly. But still, that was better than anyone else he could try and name. Not even his family had been able to…

"Other Sasuke? Do you mean that even before _I_ was here you were still technically cuddling me in some shape or form?" Sasuke prodded. The words were irritated, and just to shake things up a little he threw in a cocky smirk. He had to live a little, add something extra every now and then to spice up the boring, bland anger that coated his entire existence. That was what arrogance was for.

"Shut up teme!" Naruto retorted automatically. Ah, everything was normal. So why was Sasuke consistently seeing a lifeless face instead of one so full of well rehearsed aggravation every few minutes?

Sasuke forced himself to turn his face away, cheek pressed against the warm wrinkled sheets. He noted that Naruto was still kneeling over him, hands pressed firmly against his shoulders. Why hadn't he moved exactly? Not that he'd really ordered the dobe to remove himself from this obnoxious proximity. But he should have just known…instinctively. Right? He grumbled, a sneer alighting his face. There it was. Naruto crawled off of him; now lying on his back to Sasuke's left. Both of them were breathing slowly, deeply, as if to fend off some approaching swell of emotion that was neither welcome nor appreciated. As if this was a scene they acted out frequently Kyuubi approached the bed and climbed up easily. He maneuvered behind them, sprawling out languidly and acting as a pillow under their heads. Sasuke's cheek was then propped up on a healthy layer of muscle covering what he could slightly feel as ribs. The back of Naruto's head must be farther down on the cushier, yet still firm stomach. Warm paws rested softly against the wrist of his right arm. Every few minutes a feeling of panic would pass through him erratically, eventually smoothing out and disappearing like ripples in a pond. Red string. Sasuke blinked. The image was brief and confusing. He shook his head gently to bring himself back to the present.

"Sasuke."

"Hn." A simple show of acknowledgement. Well practiced, expected, understood.

"I'm going to explain to you now where we are, what's going on, and what you're going to have to do. No interrupting, even though it's going to sound crazy and weird."

"Hn." Sasuke couldn't turn his head. He was afraid that if he moved to face him…_him_ he would see a corpse ragged, bleeding and staring hollowly at him. Worse, he was afraid (_afraid, weak enough to feel fear now are you?_); he was afraid he would see nothing. He would be laying on his back in that crater with no one, lifeless, powerless, goals unfulfilled. He would be alone, with no one, left to never accept completely what he'd done and that he was-

"We're in another reality parallel to the one we left behind." Naruto's voice was a balm on his agitated, festering wound. "The divergence point is when Kyuubi was bound to me."

Tiny, spindly fingertips of healing spreading across an open sore, fresh, bloody and-

"The yondaime sealed Kyuubi outside my body, obviously, but we're still connected. Kind of as if he tied us together by the ankles."

An old man with clay, string, and moonlight. Injury, self inflicted really. You _kill_-

"And, the yondaime lived through it…and…and he's my…dad." Naruto paused, "Anyways. That's when our realities began to change and separate from each other I guess."

Then Naruto explained to him everything that was different. In this world Itachi was already dead. Naruto and he were…brothers? He'd been taken in and raised by Naruto's parents, whom were both alive here, one of them being _the_ yondaime. The legendary fourth, Konoha's yellow flash. And he was _dobe's_ father? Would wonders never cease…? They were both back to the day they'd received their jounin sensei, who was thankfully still Kakashi. Sasuke would never admit to having any amount of affection for the man. He was glad there was at least some constant in this strange parody of their lives. At least they had each other. They would know that despite all the strangeness, the mockery of their grievances, their sufferings, that they would know the truth. They would find a way through this. Then, Naruto explained how the Sasuke of this world acted and instantly he saw the problem they would have to face.

"I…I don't think I could learn to talk that fast if I tried." Sasuke began, still facing away from the only person he really _knew_ in this world. "And…to talk that much might be painful."

"Hey, not just for you, for everyone around you! I swear it's like…like, word vomit." Sasuke could practically feel the cringe on Naruto's face.

"Don't get angry at me, it wasn't really me that was doing that."

"I know but you're gonna have to if you wanna fool the 'rents." Naruto implored.

"Hn."

They both were silent after that. There were so many problems that came to mind for Sasuke. Both of them were far more powerful then this world's Sasuke and Naruto currently. With time they might have grown to the current level of strength but it might have taken longer due to their not having the same motivations. But how were they going to be able to hold back? It was going to be quite difficult for even Sasuke to keep control over his abilities and not pick things up too fast when taught. Naruto had never been one for subtlety. He was quite like a baby elephant stampeding through an echo prone space with bells around his neck. That was when he was _trying_ to be stealthy. In his world it was widely know that by the time they took the infamous 'bell test' he knew Kage Bunshin, had mastered it even. But that wasn't so in this world. Naruto couldn't very well leap out of a bush with a hundred clones of himself and say 'HAH, I gotcha!' It would go over about as well as him announcing an allegiance to Orochimaru, or Sasuke's for that matter. How was Sasuke supposed to act like his other when they were so immeasurably different? There was no way he could talk as continuously as Naruto had described. Nor could he be so openly affectionate, especially with two people that were like strangers to him. Naruto had illustrated for him what was for him the singularly most impossible task he could have imagined.

"So…" Naruto drawled indolently, "How long do you think we can stay up here before they come to get us? I mean, do you think we could just stay up here for the rest of our lives or…?"

Sasuke snorted, "I don't think so, but you're the one with the experience at the moment so I couldn't say, even if I was seriously considering it."

The fact was, he _was_ seriously considering it. There was no way Sasuke was going down there and talking to those strangers, those _people_ he didn't know whom were supposedly his parents. He knew though, they both knew, eventually they would have to leave the room. They would have to face this strange, surreal caricature of their world. All these people they both knew and didn't, they would have to interact with them. They would live out events to come that they'd already experienced and yet hadn't before…because this place was not theirs. Why exactly were they here? Really? Why couldn't they have just passed on into their respective afterlives? Why did they come to this other reality and take over the lives of two people that were probably completely undeserving of such a fate? There was also the potentially endless debate over whether or not the 'other Sasuke' and 'other Naruto' were really separate from them and different people. Then, if they were different people why…the discussion and the possibilities it contained were limitless. He would go crazy if he considered all the aspects of it. So he ignored it. _Just like what you_-

"So they're downstairs right now?" Sasuke broke the silence abruptly. A continuous stream of blather was beginning to sound comforting.

"Well, mom might be. But I think dad went back to work."

"Oh yeah, he _is_ the hokage after all."

"But mom is a ninja too, and I saw her packing up her weapon pouches so maybe she has a mission?"

"Who knows?"

"Well, do we _have_ to leave the room?"

"Might be more interesting." Sasuke offered, if only to find a way to distract himself from his own thoughts. They kept jeering at him, attempting to divert his attention back to his actions from earlier.

"I guess. You know the bell test is tomorrow, but we're not supposed to know the real reason why we're not supposed to eat…"

"So we sneak down early and eat breakfast anyways."

"Right."

Funny how they both immediately came to an agreement. Though Sasuke would never admit in any great detail just how hungry he was that day (out loud), he could _think_ that the lack of breakfast had shortened his attention span during the test. It was a great motivator, but at the same time a huge distraction. By the time he'd snagged his own bell and sat down to his lunch prize he could barely see his stomach was making such a fuss. Any slight injury he may have received that day was nigh impossible to compare to the all-encompassing pain of his stomach gnawing on itself.

"Boys!"

Both Naruto and Sasuke shot into a sitting position, backs stiff. Sasuke stared fixedly at the bedroom door as footsteps approached. This was it, he would see _her_, the woman he would soon be calling 'mom' and chatting animatedly with. _Treat it like a mission_, he thought determinedly. If this was an undercover mission with possibly fatal consequences then he would perform as required. That was the best, and really only way, to think of it if he were to survive this. When the door opened Naruto relaxed more than Sasuke allowed himself. Apparently dealing with the woman for most of the day had immunized him to any shock of her appearance. This woman looked nothing like Naruto…except for that signature smile and those jovial blue eyes. Her thick red hair cascaded over her shoulder like a waterfall. Her face was round and cheeks naturally rosy. She cocked her head to the side, and her hands on her wide child-bearing hips. She was short in stature and in her waist. Sasuke guessed there to be perhaps a few inches between the top of her hip bone and the bottom of her rib cage. The effect was of a short and stocky husky with lots of muscle and no fat. Yet still because of her bone structure she looked heftier than women of her height with a longer waist. This was only further accentuated by her green jounin flak vest. This probably bothered her to no end, as women tended to be so concerned over such trivial things. Her thighs were thick under her blue capris; and her toned calves bulged against the confines of the wraps she'd administered. Her sandals revealed toes that were far less than glamorous, but who paid attention to those sorts of things anyways? Sasuke tried to ignore the strange whiteness that covered most of the woman's toenails but seemed incapable of looking away. It was like a train wreck, filled with dead babies. Horrifying, yet captivating.

"Are you two alright?" She questioned in less of a concerned voice, as a 'you look really weird' voice.

"Yeah, we're fine…mom. What's up?" Naruto started.

"I was just about to head out to the market and I know you two always write a list for me, but you know I forget it's in my pocket all the time. It really would just be best for you to come along." She replied.

"Okay." Sasuke told her.

The woman appeared surprised; as if she'd prepared a whole list of arguments to use against them should they refuse. Now finding them useless she shrugged and motioned for them to follow. Sasuke numbly pushed himself off the bed, finding reassurance in Naruto following him. They trailed after their 'mother' down the stairs and out of the house. Sasuke recognized this as the more respectable district of town that was near the hokage tower, and a modest distance away from the hustle and bustle of the market. This was near the clans' districts…_including my own_. Sasuke gulped but did so in a way that was not obvious to anyone that wasn't their mother or Naruto. The woman glanced back at him over her shoulder and Sasuke wondered at the sixth sense of a mother. He looked away from her and instead surveyed the world around him.

It was amazing how this town was both the one he knew and yet not his. It belonged to the other Sasuke. _The one who's life I'm unfairly living_, he thought. After a walk of modest length they reached the outdoor market. Their mother had picked up a fairly large basket on her way out that she now handed to Sasuke to hold. He accepted it without a word and watched as she placed various items within it and paid the respective merchants for them. Sasuke looked frantically to Naruto hoping he would offer up some topic for him to babble about. He could tell already that his mother was concerned about his lack of 'word vomit' as Naruto had so kindly dubbed it.

"Hey mom," Sasuke started. He noticed how much easier the word came out for him than for Naruto. When he gazed upon this woman he saw one with raven black hair and a more oval shaped face. He focused on the image, no matter the pain it dredged up. It would make this easier.

"Yes sweetie?"

He cringed inwardly, "When is dad getting home tonight?"

"I'm not sure, you know how weird is schedule can get. Though he should be home earlier next week, you know I have that mission coming up in the Wave country."

"How long are you going to be gone?"

"Oh, I don't know, they'll probably want me there for a week at the least, but I'm guessing it could stretch onto three." 'Mom' gave him an apologetic look as she thanked a merchant for the milk she'd purchased. She handed Sasuke four large glass bottles which he placed in the basket and covered with the blanket at the bottom of it.

"Try to shoot for the one; I hate it when you take long missions." Sasuke offered up a grumble that was strangely genuine.

"I know, honey. But just because I'm a mommy now doesn't mean I'm not a ninja anymore." She cooed with a small smile lighting up her face, "I love both parts of my life and though you know I would choose you in a heartbeat, I also have a responsibility to my village."

"I knoooow." Sasuke sighed. This was far easier than he expected it to be. It was reassuring, and at the same time frightening. The situation was a disturbing parallel of shopping trips with his real mother when he was much younger.

"Besides, I think Hatake-san will keep you fairly busy while I'm gone. You two are official ninja now. You'll be working."

"That's if we pass our test. There's a 66 percent fail rate, you know."

His 'mother' reassured him that he'd pass, that they both would. He maintained a casual, genuine conversation with the woman all the way back to the house, and while they put away groceries. Naruto remained silent at his side, helping out with the placing of items with an instinctive knowledge. Sasuke knew it wasn't the only one bothered by the fact that their hand seemed to just know where things went. Naruto, despite his silence and neutral face, was clearly disquieted. Well, to Sasuke anyways. His movements were stiff as if his muscles were cramping, and his eyebrows were knit together in a subtle way so as to not draw attention. Wait, dobe, and subtle…in the same sentence? Sasuke shook his head. Eventually after everything had been settled their mother went out to do some more errands that didn't require they tag along. Naruto and Sasuke ventured into the living room and turned on the TV. Both of them may have had their eyes locked onto the screen and the images that moved within it, but they weren't really paying attention. They were thinking about the day to come, about dinner with their 'parents'. They were thinking, though unaware of the similar trends of thoughts, about how lucky they were that they at least had each other, and how in the end, it might not help them one bit.

**TBC…

* * *

**


	4. Anomalistic: Chapter 4

**Fate's Garden**

Part 1 - Anomalistic

Chapter 4 - Salt Water Taffy

* * *

"So I'm really a loser…? You and I are on the same level in this world?" Sasuke asked, in total disbelief.

Naruto grunted in the affirmative. Their alarm had just gone off. Currently they were in their separate beds, remaining snuggled comfortably under their blankets. They had a while before breakfast, well, a while being ten minutes. He'd realized something after a few minutes, and that was that they had their test today. Sasuke would be meeting this different Sakura for the first time. He'd actually see some of his peers, and this would be a problem. While Sasuke wasn't used to being an outcast, the rookie nine of this world were used to a Sasuke who didn't fight back. Granted, duck-butt did stand up for his brother in a sufficient enough manner. He just didn't really strike against the enemy with any great deal of venom in his bite. Naruto knew, and didn't particularly care, that he wouldn't be able to stop Sasuke from lashing out verbally. He was both afraid, and excited about the resulting scenario. This Sakura had never dealt with a Sasuke like this before. She also didn't like him, and none of her 'friends' did either. As far as Kyuubi had told him, she'd never been subjected to her earlier isolation as Naruto's real Sakura had. She and Ino had been friends from the start, and ruled their generation at the academy with an iron fist. Meaning, her insecurities (including her large forehead) had never been brought to light. Naruto smirked evilly.

"Ugh. It's a blessing and an insult at the same time."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Naruto snapped.

"Exactly what it sounds like it means."

They'd both sat up straight, staring over their respective headboards at each other. Two sets of narrowed eyes locked onto each other as they glared. Their staring contest was cut short by a sudden exclamation that had both boys stiffening (though for entirely different reasons).

"Boys! Come down here and say goodbye to your mother before she goes on a long mission!" Came the indignant holler.

"Coming Mooooom!"

Naruto still found that his breath hitched every time the word left his mouth. While all other words in his vocabulary rolled easily off his tongue, the words Mom and Dad were ripped off like duct tape. It was either the quick excruciating pain of just forcing the familial jargon out, or the suffocating feeling that his tongue was made of cotton balls and his mouth a cave of peanut butter. Both sensations were extremely unpleasant, and surprisingly difficult to choose between. Either way, Naruto got out of bed, and followed Sasuke out of their bedroom. Kyuubi, whom had remained oddly quiet, hefted himself up off of the floor and tagged along as well. Naruto glanced back at him as a sort of 'good morning' look. Kyuubi didn't make any sort of gesture to acknowledge him however; he was probably asleep on his feet. Down the stairs they shuffled, shrugging off sleep and nearly making a wrong turn. They needed to start looking like they knew their way around their own house. Not knowing was both suspicious and slightly embarrassing. Their mother was in the living room, waiting expectantly on the couch. She beckoned them both over, and Sasuke was of course the first to answer the subtle hand gesture. He maneuvered across the short distance easily and fell into place next to the woman on the couch. Naruto watched as Sasuke blithely obliged this stranger's plea for a hug, and a kiss on the cheek. He even told her he loved her and that he hoped she didn't die. Though the second remark was rather sarcastic, there was some sincere meaning behind it. Sasuke gave Naruto a pointed look.

Naruto stiffly, as though he were made of lead, strode over to his mother. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders somewhat robotically and applied pressure. Then, he kissed her on the cheek and tried to say the words. He tried. He really did. But all he felt was that his tongue was swelling up and that he might just swallow it. He pulled back and thought that the pressure of her looking at him might provide some encouragement. Instead it only worsened the situation. Her concerned gaze was resting on him, probably meant to be a soothing action to blanket over his odd behavior. It only made him slightly ill. He probably looked ill because his mother opened her mouth and words came out. Words of worry. He knew they were. But for some reason he couldn't hear them. Sasuke took him by the arm and dragged him out of the room. Duck-butt and mother were conversing in panicked shouts across the house. But it sounded more like 'blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah' to him. Sasuke performed a series of trial and error before finding a bathroom and directing Naruto to the toilet.

When it came time for him to actually vomit, it was like someone had blocked up his esophagus. There was a growing pressure from his stomach, it made his body lurch forward and fall back, and go forward again. But nothing came out. His eyes began to water, his throat hurt, and all the while his tongue was a cotton ball. Sasuke started pounding on his lower back. At first Naruto wanted to kill him, but then, suddenly there was a method to his madness. The block disappeared. He seized the edges of the toilet bowl and heaved. It was amazing that his stomach had that much to get rid of. Heave, gasp, splutter. Spit. Rinse and repeat. This lasted several minutes while Sasuke stood in the corner away from him, eyes settling dispassionately on his back. When he felt that he was finished he shakily pawed at the flusher. It worked after the twentieth try. Then he fell back onto the tile, staring at the ceiling. Sasuke was giving him that look. The one that told him he was an idiot, and he didn't know it, and he would never understand why (supposing he did figure it out). Naruto knew this look well. Sasuke had given him this look a few moments before he'd killed him. He shivered. It probably looked more like a spasm.

Sasuke went to the door, opened it a crack and called something down the hall. It sounded like, 'he's fine, mom! Go ahead and go!' _Thanks, Sasuke_. Naruto thought wearily. Or, at least, that's what he thought till he got a kick in the ribs. He gasped, curling up on his side, facing away from the teme.

"What the hell was that?!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"I-I-I don't know!" Naruto cried.

It was the truth. Mostly. He really didn't know 'what the hell' that was. He'd never had a mother before, or a father. While he'd largely suspected who his father was, he still didn't know his mother. No one had ever told him who they were. The fact that they were here, in this world, living and breathing and very much alive was a lot to take in. For him, anyways. Sasuke seemed just fine with it. Naruto didn't understand it. Sasuke didn't have a mom or dad either. _But he did have them, once._ Naruto sighed. This was frustrating. While Sasuke could very well just tell anyone he wanted pretty, nice things and not mean them, Naruto had a lot of trouble with that. He said what he meant, and meant what he said. That included the 'L' word. He didn't know these people. He wasn't really their son. How was he supposed to just lie to them? Naruto rolled onto his sore side and turned his eyes up into Sasuke's perturbed face.

"I…this isn't as easy for me as it is for you."

"Obviously."

Naruto felt a chill wash over him as something became very apparent to him. Sasuke had a good deal of practice with lying to people about his nonexistent affection for them. He'd practiced for quite a while on him and Sakura and Kakashi-sensei. Then he'd come out and said, 'oh yeah, I hate you' and run off to be Orochimaru's groupie. Then…then he'd stabbed Naruto in the chest and killed him. In a shining example of karma, and poetic justice, Sasuke then promptly was killed by Sai. Funny how Sai was like a Sasuke working backwards, and how he was the one to kill him. While Sasuke strived towards being emotionless and without bonds, Sai was starting to learn feeling and wanted to try and create bonds of his own. It was perfectly suitable that one would be the end of the other. The point of all this, Naruto figured, was that he was trapped in an alternate universe and the only 'friendly' face was that of the one person Naruto had ever tried so hard to protect, to save, and to keep. The one person Naruto had considered one of his most precious people. This person hated him, and had killed him. Now, after all of that emotional energy spent, time wasted, he was all Naruto had.

"C'mon, let's eat, and then we can go take that test." Naruto pushed himself up off of the floor.

He couldn't let anything slip; he couldn't let Sasuke see his distress. The teme would probably figure it out anyways, but if he wasn't acting too sulky, he wouldn't mention it. So Naruto did what he did best. He put on a smile that was thoroughly unfelt and marched out of the bathroom and down to the kitchen. Once there he set about making ramen for himself. Sasuke could find something else for his stupid avenging self. Naruto paused, he sighed inwardly. Relying on a knowledge he didn't understand, he found some dumplings. They were Sasuke's one true weakness, though he would never admit it. Naruto set his ramen aside and instead focused his attention on the dumplings until they were finished. Then he set them out on the bar for Sasuke and returned back to his ramen cup. Naruto heard Sasuke take a seat at the bar and start to eat his breakfast.

The room was utterly silent save for the swishing of Kyuubi's nine heavy tails across the tile floor, and Sasuke's chewing. It seemed that the fox was waking up just to follow Naruto to his new location before collapsing in exhaustion again. As Naruto watched the glowing numbers on the microwave dwindle down to zero, he grew immensely uncomfortable. Now that the relief of having someone from his universe with him had worn off, he figured out it was the worst possible person to have with him. A train of thought Naruto often entertained within the privacy of his own head at night had returned to him full force. Why exactly was he going after Sasuke? Why?! Sasuke hated him, if he cared enough to hate him that is. He didn't want his friendship, he didn't want him around. Naruto didn't matter to him. Yet, as little as he may have mattered, Naruto knew that Sasuke meant the world to him. He was the dobe, and Sasuke the teme, they were rivals, brothers, best friends. At least, that's how Naruto had seen it. But during those two long years of training with Jiraiya, there were days when he would stop working long enough for him to seriously consider what he was doing. What was the point of going on with his endless mission of bringing the teme home if he would hate him for it? Or, there were the nights where he would stay awake all night long working on what he was going to say to Jiraiya and how he would get home. He would also think about when the next chunin exam would be and if he could perhaps enter it alone or if he would have to join another team of genin. Of course, the next day he would go up to Jiraiya and lose all of the courage he'd built up to tell him he was giving up and keep going. In the haze of training he would forget his depression and carry on with his usual fierce determination.

_BEEP_. He took out his ramen cup and pulled back the paper lid so that it could cool for a few minutes. Naruto watched the steam rise from it in soft tendrils, almost invisible but for a small plume of white. He knew why he hadn't dodged. In that single moment when Sasuke had landed before him, Naruto had realized that he'd wasted little over two years of his life. He'd wasted it on this person who didn't even want him. He could have stayed home, trained, formed a new genin team maybe and gone on with his life. If he tried to give up on Sasuke then, it would have been nearly impossible to do that, to move on. So what was the point of dodging? Why not give Sasuke some bit of happiness by just dying? Naruto broke apart his chopsticks and started picking at the food he suddenly didn't want.

"Dobe, when did Kakashi-sensei say we were supposed to show up?" Sasuke asked him.

"Ten."

"Ah, so we have a few hours."

Naruto glanced at the clock which had just struck ten o'clock. He snorted knowingly. Kakashi wouldn't even start heading towards the chosen meeting place until nearly noon. They could lay around the house still. Naruto picked up his ramen cup and poured its contents down the drain. He twisted the tap and flipped the switch on the garbage disposal. A few seconds later he turned both off and pushed himself up onto the counter. Briefly he mulled over the possibility of killing himself. But, then there was always the chance that he'd just be thrown into another universe with another Sasuke, most likely to be followed by this one. Naruto felt his shoulders lift up and then sag down as a heavy sigh escaped him. It just wasn't fair. Sasuke hopped down from his seat at the bar and took his empty plate over to the dishwasher. After closing it up he turned to look at Naruto with a mildly interested gaze.

"Hey…I know it's not easy for you to try and act like you've had parents all your life. I, at least, have the advantage of having had parents once, even if it was a long time ago." Out of the corner of his eye Naruto saw Sasuke shrug. That was the closest thing to sympathy, or an apology that would ever leave Sasuke's lips. Naruto knew it. He also knew it was completely and entirely artificial.

At this point in the game their destruction and survival was linked to each other. They needed to work together to survive this. It wasn't that Sasuke wanted to work with him, it was more that he needed to. Working with someone was easier when they were happy. If offering a sort of truce made Naruto happy then why not give it to him? Naruto had learned to translate the falsely human traits of his _friend_ a while ago.

"So…you know how Sakura was always getting on you for having manners around the adults?" Sasuke started.

"Yeah?" _Time for me to play along_, Naruto thought bitterly.

"Well…try and use everything she tried to beat into you. Combine that with how you act around Iruka, just pretend this 'mother' is him."

Naruto nodded. That did make sense. He would try his best. For the moment however, he wanted to sleep. His grim admission, even if it wasn't aloud, had exhausted him. He also wanted to be as far away from Sasuke as he possibly could. There was, too, the bizarre urge to wrap himself up in Kyuubi's tails. Vague memories of doing that as a child were swimming about in his mind. They were fast as lightning, and as uncatchable as air in his hands. He slipped off of the counter and out of the kitchen. He padded down the hall and into the living room, over to the far side beneath the tall windows revealing the side yard to him. There was a garden out there that his mother dutifully cultivated several roses and a cherry blossom tree in. She read stories to him under that tree when he was little. Naruto shook his head. He didn't know how he knew that. He didn't care. _Never mind_. He laid himself down against the curve of Kyuubi's ribcage. Long bushy tails lifted up and over him like one big warm blanket. His head rested itself on the fox's shoulder, his knees tucked into the dip of his belly, and arms wrapped just under his front legs. The position itself was immensely comfortable. It also had an oddly soothing effect on his state of mind.

The feeling reminded Naruto of when he was only four years old, in his universe. After a long day of unrelenting glares, being spat at, and verbally abused he would return to his apartment in tears. Then, despite his own hatred for his jailor, Kyuubi would offer tendrils of his chakra as comfort. In his own mind Naruto would curl up in the hallway, allowing himself to be cocooned in red energy that was so warm. Even though Naruto was the prison in which the fox was a captive, he could not help but offer some comfort to a kit in distress, human though he may be. In fact, Naruto was back there, now, in that hallway with the warm blanket, the glowing red chakra, and the condoling thoughts. But suddenly it was all shattered as a familiar chakra entered the living room and disrupted his peaceful moment.

"Dobe, c'mon, we should get ready to go. It's almost eleven thirty." Sasuke's voice announced.

Naruto tensed, he wondered how that much time could have passed when it felt like only a few minutes had. Yawning widely Naruto stretched before disentangling himself from Kyuubi. He stood up and let his eyes fall to Sasuke's face. The teme was watching him. He was beginning to wonder what was wrong with him. Naruto could feel it. _Why not let him figure it out?_ Naruto thought idly. _Because he would find it hilarious that you're in so much distress over his apathy towards you. He would lord It over you forever._ He answered himself.

"Okay." Naruto felt himself saying, "Let's get ready then. I call first shower!"

After pasting a thoroughly counterfeit grin upon his face, he hurried past a confused looking Sasuke and up the stairs.

**TBC…**


	5. Anomalistic: Chapter 5

**Fate's Garden**

Part 1 - Anomalistic

Chapter 5 - They come in flavors?!

* * *

They were such good little orphans. Each of them developing coping mechanisms at around the same age that both could see straight through. Sasuke stared after Naruto as he hurried past him to the shower he probably had no clue as to the location of. That was his fake smile. He'd been using it since he blew chunks. Sasuke grudgingly wandered up the stairs, listening as the dobe opened up several different doors. A second later Sasuke heard him exclaim 'Aha! I win!' and then the sound of a door closing. Sasuke wasn't so much bothered by the fact that Naruto was using such a mask as he was confused as to what had caused it. He hadn't been outright mean to him. Not seriously anyways. Dobe knew he was just teasing for teasing's sake. That's how they were. _Maybe it's because he remembered you killed him?_ Sasuke thought. He sighed. He picked up the thought and threw it back into the far recesses of his subconscious for further ignoring. This was starting to get frustrating. Whereas yesterday those random reminders had him tensing up and feeling as though a shard of ice had been rammed through his chest, now he could just push them aside.

Sasuke paused outside of the bedroom door and glanced over his shoulder. The fox was staring at him. He lay next to the bathroom door across the hallway, merely staring at him. Sasuke couldn't even summon up a glare to send back at him. That gaze was holding him steady, moving his hand onto the doorknob and pushing the door open. His head turned to face forward, and he stepped through the doorway, the house disappearing behind him. He was standing in the middle of a garden that seemed familiar to him, yet he couldn't remember ever being there before. There was a short, fat, balding man sitting on a small island in a pond. He seemed content, with his clay in each hand. Both hands were working independently, quickly and expertly forming new figurines. When they were finished he would tie a bit of red string around their ankles, linking them together, before setting them on the ground at his feet.

Suddenly a tall man with excellent posture strode swiftly into the garden. He came through the entry way to the left of Sasuke. A path led out of the garden to…elsewhere. Sasuke had no idea where this garden was, or where its paths might lead to. The visitor approached the man with the clay and knelt before him. Neither spoke for a stretch of time. The new man had ragged orange hair, and fox ears where human ears should have been. His face was long and narrow and young, eyes thin and gleaming and red. Though he wore thick robes that concealed most of his body's shape, it was obvious he was slender by the thinness of his wrists. Tails poked through the back of his robes, nine of them, all just as orange as his ears, long and flowing. Each of them was twitching, twisting and twining in separate directions of each other. Finally, the fox man spoke.

"I see you have tied my childe to a mortal, father." The fox gestured to a pair of figurines currently sitting on a stepping stone in the pond.

"It was to happen." The man nodded, his hands never ceasing in their movement.

"But you could have prevented it, father."

"I warned you when he was birthed, he would be tied for three lifetimes to a mortal, and that mortal would follow him."

"But the realms are disrupted." The fox insisted.

"They are." 'Father' nodded again.

"Two more realms are to be put out of place before he may come into his heritage and join us in the garden. By then he could be so very well attached to this mortal he may no longer see the truth!"

Fox was so distressed by the conversation that he had stood up from his respectful bow. He now stood over the shorter man, hands clenched into fists. 'Father' smiled serenely at the fox and set down two newly finished and tied figurines. He gathered up his clay bag, which was now empty. Confidently he took the fox man by the arm and guided him over the short red bridge linking island to shore.

"You were just such a childe once, my son. Be understanding of your own offspring as I was of you." The short man intoned warmly.

"But it is so difficult to watch and not aid him. Of the nine kits in my litter he was the only one to survive…father, I just want him home again." Fox sighed tearfully.

"I understand, my son." The man nodded his head twice, balding head bobbing. Aged silver hair lay over his shoulders and thinly on his fat cheeks. "Now how bout you come to the forge with me and gather some more clay. Perhaps even, we may have some tea."

"Yes father." Fox's ears flattened against his cheeks to show his clinging anxiety.

As they started to leave the garden through the left gate, Sasuke could just barely hear their conversation.

"Tell me now, my son, have you heard much of your sister Shukaku? I have not seen her lately…"

Sasuke gasped as he was suddenly once again in the bedroom he shared with Naruto. He spun around to look at the fox that had just discreetly turned his gaze to the floor. He winked once before closing his eyes and letting out a contented sigh. Then, with no warning whatsoever the bedroom door swung shut with a loud bang. Sasuke jumped and scuttled backwards across the room to his bed, eyes never once leaving the door. He hadn't touched it. It had just…he gulped. Shaking his head Sasuke lay on the bed and rolled onto his side, facing the wall. He waited for Naruto to finish with his shower so that he could go take one. He would ignore the door, and that damn fox. Sasuke found that he did not, however, want to ignore that vision he'd had, if that's what it was. He didn't know what had happened really. But he remembered all of it, how the strange fox man had moved, and how assured the older, smaller man had been. He also remembered that the figurines the fox man had gestured to, when referring to his son, had been Sasuke and Naruto.

* * *

Naruto slipped and fell down in the shower, a painful smack sounded through the bathroom. He cried out in pain at his now sore bottom, and hands as they had reached out to help catch his fall. They weren't cut but were bright red. That was the loudest he'd ever heard a door slam. What was up with Sasuke to make him throw a hissy fit? Either way he stood up and reached for the handle on the wall of the shower. As soon as the water shut off Naruto carefully stepped out of the shower/bath combo and grabbed a towel to dry off with. During his shower, however brief it had been, Naruto had calmed himself down on the Sasuke front. He was finding himself doing the one thing that had kept him from going crazy during those two years of training with Jiraiya. He was purposefully ignoring the reality of the situation. Sasuke was Sasuke was Sasuke. It was the way of the world that he be an ass, and so Naruto should take it with a grain of salt that he was still, in fact, an ass. It didn't matter just how nice it had been to curl up with a Sasuke that cared about Naruto's well-being. It didn't matter that the Sasuke who'd cared had nearly pushed him off the bed in an effort to be closer to him. All of that was well and good, but his was _his_ Sasuke, and he knew him inside and out. He was Naruto's. That's what mattered.

He wrapped the damp towel securely around his waist and scooped up his dirty clothes in his arms. Then he opened the bathroom door and walked across the hall to their bedroom. Inside Sasuke was curled up in the fetal position on his own bed facing the wall. Something catastrophically horrifying must have happened. Naruto dropped his clothes in a heap and hurried over to the bed. If Sasuke was just being normal he would be lying on his back staring at the ceiling in that endearingly robotic fashion Naruto was accustomed to. This was a regression to the age of four, Naruto was sure. He rested one hand tentatively on Sasuke's shoulder.

"What happened?" Naruto asked. You had to be blunt and specific or else he would find a way to evade and deny any interrogating you tried. If Naruto asked 'Are you okay?' Sasuke would say 'Hn' and walk away. If Naruto asked, 'What's wrong?' Sasuke would say 'nothing, dobe' and walk away. Keywords being 'walk away'.

"Nothing."

Well, that wasn't 'hn'.

"Why are you chomping on your bottom lip like it's some of Shika's deer jerky then?"

"I'm not." Sasuke twisted his head around to glare at Naruto. He was still chewing on the inside of his bottom lip.

Naruto quickly took Sasuke's bottom lip between his thumb and forefinger and pulled it out from between his teeth. "Really?"

Sasuke slammed his fist into Naruto's jaw, sending him reeling backwards and causing him to let go of him. He then stood up and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Naruto rolled his eyes as the knot finally loosened on his towel. It slid off his hips and to the floor in a crumpled wad. He plucked it off of the floor and chucked it over to the dirty clothes pile next to the door. As he picked out an outfit and arranged his kunai Naruto watched the clock. It was almost noon. Damn Sasuke and his girly showers. He could risk life and limb to yank Sasuke out of the shower and pull him across the hall into their room. OR, he could wait here and possibly end up being later than Kakashi-sensei to their meeting. They might even fail their test by showing up late. Kakashi was a real bastard. Even if he was the closest thing to a father that Naruto ever had, well…him and Iruka-sensei. But still, they were teachers! They shouldn't have been his parents! He groaned. The bedroom door opened and in walked a rather prissy looking Sasuke. His hand was clamped firmly around the knot of his towel.

As Sasuke got dressed Naruto stared at the clock. They really needed to start heading out. He got up and started packing up Sasuke's kunai pouches for him, knowing what sorts of arrangements he usually kept them in. By the time Sasuke had secured his sandals Naruto was holding out his weapon packs to him. Sasuke glared at him but took them regardless. Once they were out the door with Kyuubi lazily loping along after them Naruto bothered to touch his now tender jaw. It felt a little puffy but not as bad as when Sakura occasionally punched him. Oh well, he thought. They sped over roofs upon roofs heading for the meeting place where sure enough Sakura was already there. She glared at them.

"Figures that the two losers would show up late, you know that Kakashi-sensei told us to be here about two hours ago, right?" Sakura scoffed before they had a chance to answer, turning her eyes onto the wood of the bridge.

"Well is he here yet?"

"No, but-"

"We weren't gonna stand here for two hours like you did when we knew he'd be later than us."

To that Sakura merely huffed and Naruto grinned at having caught her. Sasuke wasn't openly staring at Sakura but for him, he might as well have been. He kept glancing at her when she wasn't looking, his eyes a little wider than normal. Naruto translated this into normal people speak, _Is she mentally ill? How hard did she hit her head? Why isn't she trying to flirt with me?_ He laughed to himself while Sakura hated them from afar. Sure enough, Kakashi arrived a mere ten minutes after Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura looked between the two boys and their sensei and growled to herself. No doubt she was angry for not having thought of adding two hours to the requested meeting time herself.

"Kakashi-sensei where were you? You told us to get here at ten!" Sakura demanded. Sasuke and Naruto merely shared a languid look and pushed themselves off of the railing they were leaning against.

"Well, on my way here I witnessed some young delinquent like yourself steal an old woman's purse. So I tracked him down and got it back for her. The whole chase combined with the processing of that hooligan downtown made me quite late."

Sakura was twitching like she wanted to pummel her sensei. Sasuke and Naruto, who'd known their sensei already for so many years thought nothing of it and merely shrugged. They wanted to get this test over and done with so they could go home. There was an unspoken agreement between them, both of them would work together to get the two bells and give one to each other. Then when Sakura was tied to the pole and hungry, they would both give her bits of their lunch, no matter how bitchy she was. Kakashi-sensei would be happy, Sakura-bitch would shut up, and they could go home. It was as simple as that.

Naruto glanced towards Kyuubi who was sluggishly following them towards the training grounds. He seemed so exhausted. Easily opening the link between them, Naruto mentally prodded him.

_What has you so exhausted?_

**Nothing that you need to know.**

_No amount of pestering will make you tell me…?_

**Try and 'pester me' and I will tell the dark furred kit all of your thoughts on him from this morning. Don't test me. You know I'll do it.**

Naruto seethed for several minutes about that. Through their link the pesky fox had laid on thick the truth behind his words. He would in fact 'do it'. Of, that Naruto had no doubts. The last thing he wanted at the moment was for Sasuke to find out just how angst ridden he'd been. So for the moment he left the fox alone. There was no way he was risking his tenuous peace with Sasuke over something he probably didn't _want_ to know. Once they'd reached the training grounds Kakashi began to explain the test. As he revealed the truth as to why he'd ordered them to not eat breakfast Sakura was outraged. She shrieked about injustices and unfairness until she'd practically gone hoarse. Then, of course, Kakashi was forced to inform her that he couldn't care less about her whining and so she should, therefore, halt such ministrations. Sakura went immediately quiet and chose to quietly simmer over her blunt dismissal. Sasuke snorted at her actions but didn't move to verbally slap her yet. Naruto laughed inwardly, eager and yet afraid about the upcoming encounter. He could feel it coming. Sasuke was just waiting for the right opportunity. As a feline stalking its prey in the tall grass he was biding his time, allowing the perfect opportunity for the final blow.

Kakashi pulled out his infamous orange book and began reading. As he turned a page he told them to come at him intending to kill. Sasuke and Naruto shared a look before speeding off for the trees. Together they created a suitable henge that Kakashi's transplanted (not rightfully inherited) sharingan would have at least a little trouble seeing through. They had but precious seconds to discuss a plan of attack. So they couldn't exactly attack full on, or else Kakashi would stop them and then wonder where they'd learned such advanced techniques. He would then inform their 'father' of the circumstances. Their 'father' would then instigate further interrogation. Being the hokage's sons made them perfect targets for kidnapping and installing imposters to replace them. Of course, once they'd figured out they weren't spies, (they were who they resembled) an entirely different conversation would take place. Neither scenario was one Sasuke or Naruto looked forward to. They had to find a way to be clever, to get those bells without using _all_ of their foreknowledge and strength.

Eventually they were forced to ask Kyuubi for help. The fox, who'd been lethargically lounging on the forest floor gave them a look suggesting they were dealing him a great imposition. Technically they were but who cared. Having no want, nor inclination for his 'kit to be found out', Kyuubi whipped up a far more superlative henge than Sasuke and Naruto's combined efforts initially produced. While Kakashi's sharingan was the real deal, it was gimped by not being actually his. Also, while the blood-limit technique allowed the user to see through all such henges and other such illusions, it was no match for a tailed-demon's power. Now, as they bided their time they whipped up a plan with Kyuubi. They could go all out against Kakashi, and the fox would create an elaborate illusion. This illusion would cause Kakashi (and Sakura) to believe they'd merely been miraculously outsmarted by chance. Sasuke and Naruto's effortless victory would be masqueraded as dumb luck. Quite helpful, but as Kyuubi reminded them, they could not merely rely on the fox's generous attitude forever. They would eventually have to find a way to illustrate their superfluous strengths and knowledge through excessive studying and a broadening of their horizons. Perhaps a few extra afternoons in the library and in the training grounds might be necessary.

While Naruto chose to go with the few moves that earned him the nickname 'one trick pony' Sasuke fell back on some favorites picked up from Orochimaru. Together they managed to pick up the bells in less than ten minutes. True to form Kakashi and Sakura were none the wiser. Kyuubi trotted along next to them giving them a less than impressed look. It wasn't their fault that they had to act like this. They'd been thrown into a whole other universe about four years in the past! Either way the fox still remained in that grouchily fatigued mood for the rest of the day. When the time came around for Sasuke and Naruto to share their food with Sakura, their willingness to do so was sorely tested.

"I can't believe you two losers managed to get those bells! It only figures you barely got them, and through blind luck at that!"

Sakura was strapped to the wooden pole, writhing quite voraciously against the bindings. All the while she was consistently insulting them. Naruto noticed out of the corner of his eye that the grip on Sasuke's chopsticks was tightening. The avenger raised a single bite of rice to his lips and forced it into his mouth stiffly, gaze riveted to Sakura's indignant face. The air was stiff and Naruto elbowed Sasuke in the side meaningfully. It would be time to give Sakura some food. Bitch or not, she was a teammate, and Kakashi expected them to do the right thing and feed her. But Sasuke interpreted the cue wrong. Or, perhaps he understood what he _should_ do and instead did what he _wanted_ to do.

"What are you staring at?!" Sakura screeched.

Sasuke paused, allowing his eyes to drift down from the top of her head to her eyes, and then he smirked. Naruto's breath hitched. This was what it must feel like to have a heart attack, or watch an impending natural disaster approach you at terrifying speeds. The cat flexed, raised its haunches, preparing to pounce. The worst part was, the prey it was hunting was completely oblivious to its imminent peril. Sasuke opened his mouth and began to speak. As the words started to roll out of his mouth as smoothly as poisoned caramel, Naruto realized it might have been merciful to beat her instead.

"Well, I _was_ staring at your immense forehead. But then you started squawking again so now I'm staring at your face." Sakura gaped at him, her eyes bulging in her eye sockets. But Sasuke wasn't finished yet.

"Tell me, have any of the young mothers' clinics in Konoha requested to use your forehead as ad space for condoms? I figure the deal might be beneficial to you, and come to think of it," Naruto could see the tears starting to well in Sakura's eyes. A part of him that remembered _his_ Sakura was begging him to punch Sasuke in the face. But he wasn't fast enough. "…it would probably help the clinics too; they could finally stop running tests on you for all of the sexually transmitted diseases under the sun. I'm sure they must be expensive."

Just like that, as if he mercilessly shredded people's self esteems every day, Sasuke resumed eating his lunch. But, with a minute difference only Naruto would notice. His entire body posture was less tense, and his eyes were practically alive with well contained mirth. Naruto wanted to glare, he really did. He wanted to yell at Sasuke and tell him he was a right bastard, and a snarky one at that. But, Sakura's relentless keening had ceased and while she was crying, Naruto found it to be a rather pleasant change. He was horrible. He stood up, carrying his bento box with him towards Sakura. Turning back to give Sasuke a pointed look Naruto paused in total confusion. Sasuke was sitting up ramrod straight on his designated log. There was a look in his eye that neither suggested, nor politely requested that Naruto retreated from his current course of action. That look said 'Stop now' and left no room for argument. He resembled an unsettled animal, its hackles raised, fur on end, and eyes flashing angrily. Naruto could just imagine the warning growl rising like steam up Sasuke's throat, and then erupting in flames out his mouth like an enraged dragon. Naturally all of this appeared to Naruto with one look. If it had been anyone else they might have seen a rather pretentious boy staring fixedly at them, as if they had mud on them.

But, as dominating as Sasuke liked to think himself, Naruto had never been one to bow down and accept. He strode confidently towards Sakura and raised a bite of rise up to her mouth. Without looking at him she took the offered morsel. She nearly choked trying to swallow as the hiccups her quiet tears had caused made eating difficult. Naruto fed her the rest of his lunch since he wasn't really that hungry. Then Naruto turned back to Sasuke. Oh, Naruto would be in trouble when they got home. He could see it coming a mile away. Yet still he leaned over and smartly plucked a single dango stick out of the box, he gave Sasuke a pointed stare. _Play along, little avenger. When we get home you can be a bitch again, but for now you have to play nice with the other kids._ Sasuke always was a quick study. You give him a set of instructions once, he could repeat them to you an hour after he'd followed them, word for word.

Sasuke set his box aside and snatched the desert out of Naruto's hand. Stiffly, resignedly, he walked towards Sakura who was suddenly very still. He held up the dango stick by her mouth and she grudgingly took a bite, and then another until she'd polished off the whole thing. Sasuke returned to his seat. Kakashi entered the clearing from the bushes where he'd been 'hiding'. He was watching Naruto and Sasuke with suspicion alight in the one eye he allowed them to see. But for the moment he couldn't really bring himself to care about the drama instigated by the raven haired Namikaze. He related a speech about people who forsake their teammates and their equivalence to mere garbage. Naruto knew those words well and felt himself recoil at his earlier thoughts. This was another reason why he had refused to give up on Sasuke for so long. If Kakashi was the closest thing to a father he'd ever had, no matter how neglectful he'd been, Naruto couldn't stand to disappoint him. If he gave up on Sasuke, he would be garbage in Kakashi's eyes. That was something he just couldn't take.

**It might also be your rather blind affection for the kit.**

Naruto's head snapped to the side, gaze intent on Kyuubi who now was watching him in amusement. There were times where he resented the fox's ability to gather various information from his mind at will. Naruto detested it so because of moments like this. There was also the added stress that now he wasn't the only one who heard Kyuubi's assorted perverted opinions and thoughts. Now there was the horrid possibility that the crotchety old demon would tell Sasuke whatever he found in Naruto's mind.

_I do not hold 'blind affection' for Sasuke. Get out of my head._

**So you are fully aware of the depths your adoration plummets to? It is rather impressive, you know.**

_Shut up you old pervert! I hate you; you ruined my life in another world. And you know nothing about any feelings I may hold (which are completely friendly and brotherly!) towards that teme._

**Right. It's not like I can sift through your subconscious and your memories or anything.**

Naruto could feel the fox roll his blood red eyes at him. Kyuubi sent him strong feelings of exasperation and amusement through their link. Imagining putting a stopper in a jar, Naruto cut off the link to the best of his ability and focused on Kakashi's words. They would meet at these training grounds tomorrow morning at ten. Sakura had mostly recovered from her verbal lashing and the only sign of her tears was the slight pinkness around her eyes; though that could easily be attributed to her pink eyelashes. _That must be handy_, Naruto thought. He could see her doing the addition in her head. If he told them to show up at ten she should show up at noon. She nodded absently to herself and hurried off of the training grounds. Meanwhile Sasuke left the grounds at a _brisk_ walk. To anyone that knew him well enough (like Naruto), he might as well be stomping his feet and howling to the sky in absolute rage. This was Sasuke's equivalent of a hissy fit, and Naruto lived with him. He sighed and grudgingly followed him back to the house.

Once they were inside Sasuke whirled around, fists clenched at his sides. Naruto rolled his eyes and prepared himself for the inevitable.

"Our Sakura is pretty terrible, but she was at least tolerable to a certain extent. She never shrieked like that!" Sasuke exploded.

Naruto could barely get out a nod before duck-butt carried on, "Where does she get off calling us losers and going on and on like she's the center of the universe?! How on earth did this world's versions of us put up with it?"

Knowing that moving, or looking at anything other than Sasuke was not an option at this point he waited. Naruto stood there and listened as Sasuke vented out all the aggravation he'd contained. That quick jab at Sakura's potential viral infestations and forehead size was only a tiny leak of the steam welling up inside him. By the time he was done Naruto had no problem herding him upstairs to their bedroom for a post-tantrum nap. A few close years of handling a broody Sasuke had trained Naruto to deal with many of these sorts of situations. Without actually touching him for giving any direct instructions, Naruto managed to get Sasuke into bed, facing the wall and ready for an afternoon nap. It was times like these where Naruto wondered if any of his problems with Sasuke really mattered. He knew for a fact that there was nobody else out there who could handle Sasuke as well as he could. Despite all their troubles, when it came down to it, if Naruto up and disappeared, Sasuke probably wouldn't know what to do. Without that one constant, he'd be overwhelmingly confused to the point of being pitiful. He wouldn't even realize how sorry of a state he would be in either.

Naruto withheld the sigh that was weighing him down, refusing to let it out. He peeled off his jacket and weapon pouches. Then, with one last look towards Sasuke's bed which he found himself wanting to climb into, he settled down onto his bed. He snuggled into the blankets, face nuzzling the pillow. Just before he'd fallen asleep he was roughly shoved across his twin bed and against the wall. A dip in the mattress indicated that Sasuke had joined him and now lay on the edge, away from him, yet so close. As they fell asleep they would sprawl out, limbs entangling with one another, but neither caring for their sleep was so consuming.

**TBC…**


	6. Anomalistic: Chapter 6

**Fate's Garden**

Part 1 - Anomalistic

Chapter 6 - It churns it up, makes it light, and _frothy_!

* * *

"Boys! I'm home!" Naruto's head snapped up from his pillow. His eyes turned blearily towards the door.

He was lying on his belly with his face down on his half of the pillow. His left arm was laid at his side and his right arm was thrown over Sasuke. The duck-butt in question had been lying on his back. But at the obnoxiously loud greeting from their father he'd rolled onto his side facing Naruto and wriggled closer. Now his neck was under Naruto's arm, and his head resting on Naruto's shoulder. Sasuke's arms had also somehow snaked around his upper torso. Naruto was extremely comfortable. But the voice was getting closer and closer, climbing the stairs, and approaching their bedroom door. There was one knock before the door was thrown open. Naruto was quite shocked at how little his _father's_ appearance bothered him.

Standing in the doorway, having somehow lost his official robes on his way up the stairs, was their father. He casually pulled off his forehead protector, giving Naruto a rather questioning look. Naruto wasn't really sure what his _father_ wanted him to say, or do. At the moment all he wanted was to go back to sleep and relish the fact that _his_ Sasuke was snuggled against him. Not some other universe's Sasuke, but _his_. So, not seeing any further clues as to what he should be doing, Naruto let his head fall back onto the pillow. Sasuke sighed and pressed the tip of his nose into one of the many dips and curves of Naruto's ear. His breath tickled. His arm was getting numb, the left one. He lifted it up and laid it down above his head on the pillow.

"Alright, I get it, let you nap. But, I do expect you downstairs for dinner in an hour or two." Minato chuckled as he padded out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

Naruto had every intention of resuming his nap, and he would have, if the door shutting hadn't woken Sasuke up. Duck-butt's breathing paused as he shifted and leaned up on one of his elbows to inspect the position they were in. Then, he stared at him. Naruto could feel Sasuke's eyes on the back of his head. He was probably trying to figure out whether or not Naruto was asleep, and if he could detach himself and pretend it hadn't happened. Technically this time it could be construed as Sasuke's fault, as it was his arms that were securely around Naruto. If Naruto found out, too, then he could give Sasuke all kind of shit, not that he would anyways. That would discourage him from ever allowing it to happen again. But Sasuke never was the most logical, contrary to popular belief.

He couldn't help it. Turning his head to the side he gazed up at Sasuke and smiled lazily. Sasuke froze, leaving Naruto to take advantage of it and bring him back down onto the bed with his right arm. With it still looped across Sasuke's neck it brought him right back down into the position they were before. Naruto sighed contentedly and murmured, 'G'morning Sasuke'. To this, Sasuke growled that it was afternoon, _dobe_. Whatever, Naruto mumbled.

They laid there a while, neither saying anything; Sasuke, because he probably didn't know _what_ to say, and Naruto because he was comfy and sleepy. That's when Sasuke told him about the 'visions'.

* * *

Sasuke felt very childish. Naruto had practically herded him up the stairs like a three year old and put him to bed. Now, the dobe was climbing into his bed on the other side of the room, ready to go to sleep as well. He sighed, facing the wall, glaring at it. He felt so…detached. It was odd to sleep in the same room as someone else, but not be close to them. Whenever they'd gone on extended missions back when they were twelve they would often times have to campout. Sasuke and Naruto would share a tent with Kakashi, and Sakura would get her own tent because she was the only girl. Back then, as they'd always been Sasuke supposed, he and Naruto fought nearly all the time. To prevent this during the night time, Kakashi would sleep in the middle and keep them apart. Needless to say, their poor ass selves were sleeping in a tiny tent. During the colder months they would be pressed up against Kakashi for warmth under one big blanket. Their sensei never, _ever_ forgave them for that. Sasuke had always wondered how Sakura had managed to fare under those conditions, sleeping all by herself.

He'd gotten quite used to that, and then the other extreme of sleeping in one of the abandoned houses in the Uchiha clan district all alone. This strange in between was awkward. Sasuke didn't like it. But he couldn't just find a tent to set up in the middle of the room and shove Naruto into it. He couldn't really explain to himself what he wanted. _He_ didn't necessarily want to be close to Naruto, but he wanted _Naruto_ to be close to him. Just to know he was there. Sasuke rolled onto his stomach and then propped himself up on his forearms. He peered over the headboard at Naruto's bed across the room from him.

As was usual when dealing with awkward, unexplainable situations, Sasuke treated it like a mission. He separated it into various facts and details. If he tried to sneak into Naruto's bed, and the dobe woke up, that could look like something it wasn't. Sasuke wasn't looking for anything like that. What was that supposed to mean? He shook his head. If he went over there, acting the tough guy maybe that could work…maybe it would look like his bed was uncomfortable or something like that. If he was acting that way it could be interpreted as not something he necessarily wanted to do, but was doing as a last resort. Hah. He'd figured out a plan. Sasuke slid out of his bed and nonchalantly strode over to Naruto's bed. He reached forward and shoved Naruto into the wall his bed was pressed against. Before the dobe could turn around and yell at him for it, Sasuke climbed into the bed and stayed on the very edge. He could feel Naruto's eyes drift onto him. He waited for him to say something about it. But, surprisingly he didn't. Naruto even let out a sigh that seemed…relieved? Happy? Then he went back to sleep. For the sake of his sanity, Sasuke chose not to dwell on Naruto's lack of a reaction.

* * *

Sasuke raised his arms high above his head and yawned. Hmm, that was good nap. Mid-stretch his eyes widened. Gazing around the room he was in, he noticed he was not at the house. He was in one of those visions again it seemed. He wasn't sure he could call this cavern a room. The ceiling was high but there were thick roots coming out of it, and the floor underneath his feet was made of dirt. Candles hung from the ceiling's roots by pieces of gnarled rope, and fireflies flitted through the air. A large table taller than Sasuke was in the middle of the room. A chair that's seat was at his chin was right in front of him. Finding that he could move in this vision he shuffled nervously towards it. Placing one foot on a bar connecting one leg of the chair to another he clambered up onto the seat. Once there he peered over the top of the table. A large raccoon was staring at him. It was rather portly, but not in a morbidly obese way. It had one long bushy tail which twitched about in the air as its golden eyes bored into Sasuke. Lying on the table in front of the raccoon, sleeping peacefully was Gaara. Sasuke started at that, his eyes widening. Carefully measured footsteps echoed in the hallway leading away from the room Sasuke was currently in. The footsteps soon manifested themselves as a large nine-tailed orange fox. The fox turned its gaze on him too and stopped.

"What are you doing here, mortal?" The fox asked.

"I don't know!" Sasuke answered honestly.

"Isn't this the soul mate of your childe, brother?" A sultry voice rasped. Sasuke realized it had come from the raccoon.

"I believe so, though how he ended up in our realms I don't know." The fox answered her.

"Wait…you mean Naruto! He's your son? Who are you?"

"My name is Kyuubi."

Sasuke blinked, but how then were there multiple worlds with multiple Kyuubis?

"I am a god. I have the power of omnipresence." Kyuubi responded to Sasuke's thoughts smoothly, "Though that is not exactly why I am in so many different versions of your world."

"It's actually father's fault you know." The raccoon chuckled roughly, her voice resembling the sound of dead leaves blowing down the street.

"Yes I am aware." Kyuubi sighed, "Sometimes I bother him about that. And since you mentioned him, he would like to see you Shukaku."

"Oh yes I'm sure he would like to see me. His grandchilde's time in the mortal realms has ended and he may join us now. I'm sure he would like to see him."

"Ah, is that him there?" Kyuubi questioned warmly.

"Your nephew, little brother. He will come into his form splendidly." The husky rattle that was the raccoon's tone filled with the love of a mother as she gazed fondly down on Gaara.

"So does this mean that all Jinchuuriki are just the children of gods? What about the others that had theirs extracted?" Sasuke blurted out.

Both gods turned to face him, clearly perturbed at having been interrupted. Neither answered him and instead conversed amongst themselves. Sasuke sighed and climbed up onto the table. He walked over to where Gaara lay, content in his sleep for probably the first time in his life. The red head shifted as Sasuke knelt down beside him. He reached out one tentative hand towards his face, but Gaara woke up before he could make contact. The sky blue eyes stared up at him unblinking before a gleam of recognition overtook them.

"Sasuke-kun…what are you doing here?"

"I don't know…but I think that Naruto…"

"Oh, I suppose he's to be my cousin here soon." Gaara smiled warmly at that. It was odd to see such affection upon the face of someone Sasuke had always known as a sociopath.

"Kit, you know this mortal?" 'Shukaku' questioned.

"I've known him throughout my different lives, but my most recent had a version of him that became a missing nin. Naruto was a very good friend to me in this life, and Sasuke-kun is a very good friend of Naruto's."

"Wait, Gaara, you've been to multiple universes?"

"I guess you could call them that, yes."

"How long do they last? You see, Naruto and I just were thrown into this new world where everything is so weird and everyone's different-"

"Different." Gaara nodded calmly, "You will grow to see though that they are not very different at all. Varied circumstances make them appear different, or act differently on the surface. But deep down they are always the same."

Sasuke eyed the red head with a new appreciation. Their world that they had 'started' in had been Gaara's last. He'd had no one to go through the different worlds with. But how could the psychotic Gaara that Sasuke knew be this calm one sitting before him?

"Ah, I did not come into your world until after you had run away." Gaara answered his thoughts, much in the way that Kyuubi had. "I had eight lifetimes before that one, so I guess the change in personality is quite the shock for you, isn't it?"

Sasuke nodded. It was a shock. He wanted to ask more but Shukaku swatted him off of the table like he was a gnat. Before he hit the wall of the burrow there was the sound of a door slamming and he opened his eyes, his real eyes, he supposed. He was back in the house, with Naruto. Sasuke realized that he was staring at the side of Naruto's head. Wait a second…He tried to sit up but Naruto's arm was laid over his neck as deadweight. And Sasuke's right arm was under Naruto. Hoping that he wouldn't wake up the dobe he pulled his arm out from under Naruto's chest and propped himself up with it. They'd been…he'd….great, just great. Maybe if he was really careful he could sneak back to his own bed without waking the dobe up. Then, then he could just pretend this hadn't happened. Sasuke turned his eyes onto Naruto again, who was lying belly down with his face down in the pillow. He wasn't snoring though so Sasuke couldn't really be sure…

"G'morning Sasuke." The words terrified him, but not as much as that easy smile that lit up Naruto's face. Sasuke froze, and before he could get away Naruto had dragged him back down to the bed again.

To shake off his anxiety at being found out he muttered, "It's afternoon, dobe."

"Whatever."

Sasuke turned his head to shoot a look over his shoulder at Kyuubi. The fox was lying languidly in his usual corner at the base of a tall bookcase spilling over with books. That idiotic demon smirking at him again. He settled in for a long talk as he managed to get Naruto's wakeful attention.

"Um, dobe…there's something I need to tell you…"

**TBC...**


	7. Anomalistic: Chapter 7

**Fate's Garden**

Part 1 - Anomalistic

Chapter 7 - Super Ferry Tag Team Assemble

* * *

"Sasuke…are you sure you're not sick?" Naruto asked on his way back up the stairs to their room.

"Hn."

Ever since that crazy talk about visions and dreams he'd been a little broody. Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. Gods? Gaara? Multiple Kyuubis? Had Sasuke finally lost it entirely? Just for the sake of humoring the poor avenger Naruto had held in his questions and concern until the ride had come to a full and complete stop. He even kept his hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. But, of course, by the time the loon had finished his explanation Naruto couldn't contain himself. After the first 'are you feeling okay?' Sasuke had glared at him and rolled off the bed. The second resulted in a fist aimed for Naruto's jaw, thankfully it missed. Now, of course, Sasuke was tuning him out. Stupid, brooding little avenger, skulking about with his bruised ego. What weirded Naruto out the most was that Sasuke honestly seemed to have believed what he was saying, about those visions or whatever they were. Dinner was awkward, to say the least. Neither Naruto, nor Sasuke were really sure how to act around Minato. He was just so god damned happy.

"So, I heard from my student today that you two passed the bell test with flying colors." That had been the start of the conversation from hell.

"It was mostly dumb luck, actually."

"I find that hard to believe."

Naruto had looked to Sasuke to keep up the act of being a chatterbox. But the avenger merely glared at him, then smirked, and then remained silent. Naruto tried his best to fill the silence but noticed that Minato was glancing at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye. So, he too stopped talking and grew intent on eating his dinner as fast as possible and going back upstairs. That didn't seem to work out with Minato's plan however, because their faux-father was determined to get them talking, especially Sasuke.

"Alright, I know your mother didn't tell me to come home early from the office while she was gone for nothing. So if you're not even going to look at me…"

"Then why are you here?" Sasuke offered, gracefully placing a morsel of rice in his mouth.

Minato glared at Sasuke, "May I ask what's making you so dark and brooding today, Sasuke?"

"You may."

Naruto felt his head fall in to his hand and a sigh escape him. Sasuke was being an ass again. It was the way of the world, he should just accept-

"Alright, what's making you so dark and brooding today, Sasuke?"

Sasuke actually looked up from his plate this time. Obviously he wasn't used to anyone besides Naruto barreling through such awkward conversations, and had expected Minato to just drop it. But, he was Naruto's father after all.

"My _brother_ over there…" _Here it comes, he's going to blow our cover for the sake of his little hissy fit!_ Naruto thought anxiously. "…has decided lately that he shouldn't guide me back to my own bed when I sleepwalk. I guess he just _likes_ embarrassing me."

Naruto's eyes widened. Not from the reference to their blatant cuddling, but that Sasuke _hadn't_ been a selfish whiny bitch. Minato looked between the two of them, and then…he laughed. Not just any laugh either, but a mouth open, knee slapping, belly laugh. Sasuke stopped glaring for a moment to turn his eyes on Naruto incredulously. Naruto shrugged, and they both gazed at their father in exasperation. It took a while, but when the adult in the room finally regained composure they glared again.

"Sasuke…you know you two aren't actually blood related. It isn't exactly a sin for you two to be affectionate like that." Minato intoned gently.

"…beg pardon?" Sasuke was clenching his chopsticks rather tightly in what Naruto privately liked to call _the claw_.

"Well, you know….it's always been kinda obvious to your mother and I that you two were never really just brothers, or friends even…and while it was originally a bruise to my…now what did Kushina call it?" Minato stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"'Selfish, absorbed, prejudiced, fragile man-ego.'" Kyuubi supplied from his place on the floor.

"Ah, that was it." He winced, "Still hurts too."

Naruto noted that the claw was turning into the _talon_ and that it might be a good idea to get Sasuke out of there quick. But as he was about to try and usher him out the conversation reached new awkward heights.

"…but of course we never made a fuss about it because we sorta figured it would happen eventually. That and, what's the point of stopping you from fooling around? Not like you could get Sasuke knocked up or anything."

The phrase 'so silent you could hear a pin drop' had an entirely new meaning. Sasuke's face was contorted into a mask of fury. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to come up with words to express just how enraged, embarrassed, and insulted he was by their father's statements. But his mind could not fathom anything nearly appropriate beyond flinging his chopsticks at the man and stalking out of the room and up the stairs. Minato turned to smile weakly at his son.

"…what?"

"Oh my god." Naruto turned and followed Sasuke to their room. Kyuubi trailed behind snickering in that obnoxious fox way he had. It was a mixture between panting and a strange backwards cough. Sometimes this odd laugh would get him so worked up he'd have a sneezing fit and it would be Naruto who would be laughing.

Thankfully Naruto had mastered how to enter a room that an infuriated Sasuke had just gone into. The first thing he did was duck, going into the room in a low crouch, and then he slammed the door shut and hit the deck. But instead of the usual kunai in the door or small controlled flame singeing the short hairs on his neck, there was silence. He was _seething_. Sasuke was laying spread eagle on his bed and he was staring at the ceiling with narrowed eyes. His hands were clenching into fists and then slowly letting go like he was squeezing some imaginary stress ball into oblivion. His breaths were also deep and exhaled in short, angry puffs.

Naruto opened his mouth but Sasuke cut him off, without even having to look at him, "Not.a.word."

His jaw shut with an audible click of his teeth. Kyuubi paced behind the closed door and eventually just phased through it so he could go back to napping in his usual corner. He had to find a way to make this better or else Sasuke would be sulking and whining in his own twisted avenger way for _years_. He crawled carefully over to Sasuke's bed. It was like a laughable game of red-light-green-light. Every time Sasuke turned to glare at him he stopped. Then when he looked away Naruto would crawl as fast as he could before Sasuke face him again. By the time he got over there Sasuke was mostly calmed down.

"So…Gaara's in heaven or wherever now?"

Sasuke's right cheek hit the pillow so fast Naruto could hear it. He was staring into angry avenger eyes, something he was used to so he moved right past it. "I know you think I'm crazy so just stop trying Naruto."

"No, seriously. I wanna know why you think this is so real and all."

"I actually saw it the first time, I think, after I died and before I got here. But I don't remember a lot. I just remember I saw it."

"The garden? And fat man?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think it's the afterlife or something?"

"No, just where the gods live I guess…for some reason, the tailed demons are gods there. It's…weird."

"And Gaara was his demon's…kid? And he's been through different worlds like us you said?"

"Yes, he called them lifetimes, like we're being reincarnated but we remember everything, and we come into the life a little bit later."

"Well…if I'm the kyuubi's kit or whatever, why are you coming along?"

"We're tied, remember?"

"Oh yeah, at the ankles."

Sasuke glared half-heartedly at him and turned his eyes back to the ceiling again. "Yeah."

"Hey Kyuubi?" Naruto turned towards the fox. "Do you think this is all possible? What Sasuke's going on about?"

"I'm not just any fox, kit, I think I'd know if I was a god somewhere." He closed his eyes wearily and rolled over, ignoring them again.

"Naruto just quit it. Okay, maybe you're right, maybe I'm just going crazy from, I don't know, being in a different universe?!" Sasuke shouted.

"Sasuke!" He clamped a hand over his mouth. That was loud.

He pried Naruto's hand off and moved out of his reach. "What? It's the truth. And as crazy as my whole vision sounds, it explains our situation, which might I add, is crazy to start with!"

"I know, I know, alright?"

Naruto fell back off his heels and onto his rear, hands resting behind him on the carpet. Sasuke was right. No matter what way you sliced it, the whole thing sounded nuts. They'd both died, and ended up here, feeling very much alive. Here was a reason for their weird scenario. It sounded really insane, but what other explanation did they have?

"So, what? Do they come to you randomly or…could you take me with you?"

"I don't know if I can, or if I'm supposed to."

Naruto grumbled, "Oh yeah, you said they saw you last time, right? They were pissed that you were there."

"Gaara wasn't. He was actually pretty okay with it."

"But…are you going to come with me when this is all said and done with?"

"What do you mean?" Naruto didn't like the nervous tone that had crept into Sasuke's voice.

"You know, to the garden. After our lifetimes are up or whatever. Are you going to come?"

"I don't think I can."

Naruto glowered, "Then I'm not going."

"Naruto I don't think you can-"

"I don't care if I'm not supposed to, or whatever, or if I can or can't. I'm not going without you."

Sasuke closed his mouth and settled his gaze on the sheets.

"Okay." He mumbled.

"So, the next time you go…"

"Yeah?"

"Ask them when we're gonna head on over to our next life. I'm kinda sick of this one already."

"Already? It's been two days." Sasuke chuckled, "Besides, the way Gaara sounded, I think we have to live out these lifetimes for a couple of years at the minimum."

"But I don't wanna."

"Shut up, dobe."

* * *

If Naruto thought he was sick of it after two days, he loathed it after their first month. By the time that their mother got back from her mission, Naruto and Sasuke were happy to see their father returning to his regular office hours. Though Sasuke had vowed to never forgive Minato for his insinuations that he and Naruto were a couple, he had begun to treat him respectfully again after a few days. But if Naruto had ever imagined having a father, which he had several times, he had never imagined one like Minato. In fact, Naruto had never thought that being loved, or having a father would be quite as aggravating as Minato made it seem. The yellow flash was exuberant and ruthless at the same time in whatever he did, and that included the relentless (though thoroughly good natured) teasing he put his sons through.

Once it had been brought out into the open, the thought of Sasuke and Naruto as a couple, Minato used it as the butt of every one of his jokes. If he saw them sparring in the back yard he would call out, 'Gee, all that bickering sounds like an angry cry for sex. Didn't I teach you boys to keep your shagging in the house?' Or sometimes when he woke them up from a nap he would excuse himself from the room and tell them he'd wait outside till they were done. Of course there were days where having Minato around was the lesser of two evils. They were still in the life where Sakura was the queen bitch after all. And, as fate would have it, they were still on a team with her. Attending team meetings and doing D-rank missions was more boring than frustrating. Sakura was harping on them for every little thing they did while they were doing the monotonous tasks of yard work, grocery shopping, and fetching run away cats. Though every once in a while Sasuke would fight back, ever since he'd made her cry he was a tad more restrained with his verbal assaults. Sometimes it would be like going from one hell to another or from relief to brutal mental anguish.

Their cover was nearly blown once when Naruto and Sasuke 'learned' a jutsu too fast. Kakashi had congratulated them only after he'd made sure they weren't cheating. Then they made sure to screw up a few times to compensate for their rapid skill intake. Sakura had not been pleased with them that day. It was unnerving to be treated like fresh meat again, and it was more than a little annoying to have to pace himself so much. Every once in a while he would suggest to Sasuke that they go track down a bingo book criminal and ask for a quick and painless death. Every request was shot down immediately, of course.

The first night that Kushina was home she took them out for dinner at a small restaurant near the hokage's tower called Moritake's. It was a casual sit down place with decent service and fair prices which they apparently visited often. Of course Sasuke and Naruto wouldn't know as they hadn't ever been there in their lifetime. But they smiled and nodded along just for their mother's sake. It was something they were quickly becoming masters at.

"So, how was it?"

"Was what?" Sasuke quipped as he scanned the menu.

"Holding down the fort and getting some extra time with your dad around?" Kushina added, "You know? Just guy time?"

"Don't _ever_ leave us with him again." Sasuke replied quickly, not masking his distaste at all. Naruto coughed and elbowed Sasuke in the ribs.

"Aw, it couldn't have been that bad." Kushina looked to Naruto, "He's just being a baby, right?"

"Well…" Naruto tried to think of a way to lie that would be believable and appease Sasuke at the same time but nothing appeared. He shook his head, "Nope, he was definitely being a jerk."

"Naruto!" His mother admonished him, "You do not talk about your father that way."

"He was though, mom!" Sasuke used his whiny voice that only crept out when he was around their mother.

"What did he do that was so horrible sweetie?"

"He insinuated that Naruto and I…are…were…a couple." Sasuke grumbled, "And that I was the, er, submissive party."

Kushina rolled her bottom lip inward and started chewing on it. Her eyes clearly danced with mirth but she restrained herself from laughing. Sasuke growled and hid his face behind his menu. That's when the dam broke. Their mother laughed just as heartily as their father had, and only when the waiter arrived did she stop, and only to get her order out before she started up again. Sasuke and Naruto glibly put in their orders and then slumped back in their seat, a little less enthusiastic about their mother's return than they were before.

The worst part about the time going by was that Sasuke hadn't had any more visions. Not in dreams or anything. Naruto was beginning to wonder again if the avenger hadn't just made the whole thing up. After all, it was pretty convenient than he had a whole slew of info to tell him. But now there was nothing and Naruto was itching for more. The idea of finally getting out of this stupid life and into the heavenly garden or whatever was really starting to appeal to him. Somehow it was as if he felt trapped in his own body. Even on the coldest days he felt restless, hot, stifled as if he was in a sauna. Just as humid yet pent up with energy. When he tried to talk to Sasuke about it he would shrug him off, or give him weird looks. But as the months went by, the seasons changed and they trained and trained, the feeling only grew to greater heights. By the time it was nearly unbearable…then came the day they died. Naruto suddenly remembered that death hurt, and he really shouldn't have been so impatient.

**TBC…**


	8. Anomalistic: Chapter 8

**A/N:** This is kinda important. The story is hereby renamed. This is because the name of this _series_ is 'Fate's Garden'. And technically it has around four parts. The first of which is the story you're reading at this moment, Anomalistic. But I just know myself too well, and I know that if I declare this story complete and then make the next part its own separate story it will never get written. So I'm just putting it all in one story and calling them different parts and renaming this thing as a whole. :D I'll be working on the next chapter soon, and it will be a the first of Part 2, which will be entitled 'Fox Den'. This story is still the same story, just has a new, all encompassing title.

**

* * *

**

**Fate's Garden**

Part 1 - Anomalistic

Chapter 8 - Meeting the In-laws

* * *

There was something particularly striking about the day of their second death. Several things were strange about it really, besides the fact that they were dying _again_, of course. For one Sakura was quiet. She wasn't rambling or chattering on and on when they showed up for their usual team meeting at twelve (supposedly set for ten). It was a beautiful day by the standards of late winter. They'd been in this universe for a whole year now. In fact, after looking at the calendar that morning Sasuke remarked it was the one year anniversary of their arrival. In their home world they would have been sixteen. In this one they were thirteen. The growth brought acne, growing pains, and voice breaking. Of course despite this they were getting a bit taller, which Sasuke appreciated more than either of them. _It took me four years to be significantly taller than Sakura, alright? Cut me some slack._ Naruto would never forget the day Sasuke said that. If only because he admitted it.

The sun was shining, the winter bare trees were showing signs of regaining their green attire, and a slight breeze induced only the slightest chill. It was a good day. They were heading out for a short messenger mission, something they could have probably entrusted to a messenger hawk. But their father figured he could send some genin instead. How flattering. Naruto and Sasuke slouched against the rail of the wooden bridge. Sakura was doing the same against the rail opposite them. She was staring at her shoes, scuffing them on the wood. Though in their old life Sakura was a slightly nicer person, she was still mean. Yet by the time they'd been together as a team for a year they'd all been a bit closer to each other. They were more of a small family than colleagues. Which, considering genin were seen as working shinobi of the leaf, that's really all they were, co-workers. But in this world, it seemed as if Sakura's ranking in the socialite network was forming a tall thick barrier between them. She was keeping herself from being something more than a fellow nin to them. While it kept them mostly professional it also inhibited them in some ways.

While other teams were becoming close knit family units, Team seven was becoming a strictly formal, well-oiled machine. Other teams were getting to know their members so well they could conduct missions with nearly no communication, working out elaborate formations and tactics. Team seven came up with plans on the spot and worked independently; divide and conquer. It worked for them now, when they needed little to no teamwork to take on the missions handed to them. But in the future they'd need to be a little more cooperative. Thankfully for Naruto and Sasuke they didn't have a future to wait around for. Today they were going to die, even if they didn't know so in advance.

Kakashi strolled around the corner of the butcher shop that stood next to the bridge. As he came to a stop at the base of the bridge he eyed them all knowingly. Sasuke and Naruto were tired. Their father had gotten some bill accepted by the council, some reformation or other. Their mother had insisted they celebrate by going out to dinner and a late movie. When they got home it was already late, yet Kushina still thought it a good idea to have ice cream before bed. But, of course Kakashi knew this. He'd met up with them for their celebratory dinner. What Kakashi didn't know was why Sakura wasn't reprimanding him for being late, as she did every day, despite her now knowing full well he would always be late for all of time.

"Sakura-chan…you're so quiet." Kakashi stated.

"Did you bring the scroll with you?" She asked stiffly.

"Hm?"

"For the mission, the scroll we're going to be delivering to the border patrol today?"

Kakashi blinked his one visible eye and nodded, pulling it out of his flak-jacket and waving it in her face to prove he had it. Sakura snatched it from his hand and marched past him and around the corner. Naruto and Sasuke shared a withering look and heaved their tired backs off of the stiff wooden railing. With Kakashi at their side they shuffled through town and towards the gate. If they were lucky Sakura was waiting for them there. She might, however, have started on ahead anyways since she appeared to be in such a foul mood.

Their teacher whom had been a large part of their old life seemed to be an even bigger part in their second. He was seen as part of the Namikaze family, as a sort of uncle to Sasuke and Naruto as he'd been their father's pupil, and only one to be still alive. So for Christmas, birthdays, and other such family events he was usually around. Jiraiya even made an appearance every once in a while, and the first time he did Sasuke and Naruto nearly had an aneurysm. If they'd thought he'd been a crotchety old man before then there was surely no words to describe him now.

"Do either of you know why Sakura-chan is so upset with us?" Kakashi asked.

"What makes you think she's upset with us in particular?" Sasuke retorted, "Maybe it's just that time of the month."

The three men shuddered. The issue was effectively dropped after that. Sakura was standing ramrod straight, glaring at anything that moved. Though she was still at the gates was encouraging, she was still just as hatefully quiet as she was before when she'd stormed off. The three of them sighed and joined her, but as they headed out, they made sure to walk a cautious distance behind her.

By the end of the day Sakura's grueling pace had gotten them nearly halfway to their objective. They were all exhausted. Even Sakura, who had remained entirely unflappable all day was looking a little winded. As they always did they divided up the jobs of setting up camp. Sasuke would set up the traps around their campsite, Naruto would go get dinner, Sakura would get the firewood, and Kakashi would set up their tents. Once everyone had finished their usual jobs they settled down around the fire to eat their dinner. Sakura had used the fish Naruto'd brought back to create a fairly decent soup. Though none of the men present were avid seafood fans they enjoyed it to a certain degree.

The second odd thing was that when they lay down to bed, Sasuke had his first vision in months. In fact, the only one since he'd seen Gaara. Sure enough, when Naruto and Sasuke had checked the records to find information on the Kazekage's youngest son, Gaara was not listed there. He'd truly disappeared from every version of the world.

Sasuke laid down in their tent on Kakashi's right, Naruto on the other side of their teacher already fast asleep. He stared at the slightly dipped in ceiling of their tent. As he watched the dying firelight weave shadows on the ceiling and the door and the walls of their meager shelter he noticed the edges of his vision begin to blur. It was as if one eye was seeing the tent and the other was seeing something else entirely. He screwed his eyes shut in an attempt to keep the double vision from making him nauseous. But when he opened them again he was lying down in tall grass. A bright blue sky above him, illuminated but no sun in sight.

"What are you doing here mortal?" An agitated voice demanded, "I was sure that we'd secured the borders of our realms from your entry long ago."

Sasuke grunted at the effort it took to move as he forced himself to sit up and look around. A raccoon with rich tawny fur and large black rings around her eyes glared at him. She stood a fair few feet taller than him yet she was still slouched, slinking about in the grass. Her large bushy tail was swinging from side to side in frustration. But as soon as she began inching towards him with hate in her eyes a smaller raccoon leapt in front of her. This new coon had darker fur that was a more red brown than his fellow's golden hide and startlingly blue eyes. His eyes had a thinner rim of black around them and they were warning the other to stay back.

"Son, what on earth do you think you are doing?" She growled.

"Leave him alone, mother. He has done nothing wrong-"

"Nothing wrong! How dare you-"

"He did not come here intentionally. Even if he did, he's just trying to understand what is happening to him. You cannot condemn him for that."

"I can condemn any mortal I want! I am my father's firstborn, I am the goddess Shukaku, and you are my kit, you have no right to oppose me and my decisions."

"Mother, calm down." The younger coon sighed. A long suffering posture had decorated his shoulders now, which were slumped in exasperation.

"Why do you protect him?"

"Because he is the mate of my cousin, and you would do well to remember that! Do you not remember your own nephew?"

Sasuke wanted to protest this notion of being anyone's mate but couldn't summon up any words. He was being defended from the wrath of an angry goddess. Whatever defense this kindly god utilized was thereby fine with him. But as the argument grew more and more heated, Sasuke realized something. This god that was protecting him was…Gaara. What did Shukaku say the last time he saw her? _He will come into his form splendidly._ His form…this _was_ Gaara!

"Gaara!"

The auburn furred coon turned away from his mother to find the source of the loud interruption. When his eyes alighted on Sasuke the coon was suddenly a tall young man with bright red hair and blue eyes. He sat down before Sasuke and greeted him with a bone-creaking embrace.

"Sasuke-kun!" He offered a warm smile, "How are you?"

"Fine. How about you? You were a giant raccoon a minute ago."

Gaara chuckled at that, "I am doing well. Mother doesn't particularly like mortals, you'll have to excuse her."

"Excuse me? Son, I am _right here_."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and laughed nervously. He was quite aware that however amusing Shukaku's anger might be, she could send him right back to the mortal world if he angered her. For several weeks after he'd first told Naruto about the visions, about this garden and the gods, Naruto had pestered him with questions. Then, he'd given him questions to ask the gods should he have another glimpse of this garden. But now that he was there, in the realm of the gods, it seemed as though he'd forgotten nearly all of them. Gaara smiled at him and helped him out of his thoughts.

"C'mon, let's go have tea with your future in-laws."

Caught off guard by the sudden invitation all Sasuke could muster was a feeble, "In-laws?"

* * *

In-laws, there were so many of them… Sasuke entered the large lavishly furnished living room and was astounded by the amount of people and animals present. It was a scene out of a fairytale book. Bright colors faded into warm muted tones that seemed to distract him from so much as breathing. There was one huge window in the slanted ceiling that lit up the whole room. Directly beneath it were two massive black panthers curled up together in a loving embrace. An even larger panther was lying just outside the circle of light watching them sleep. There were couches set about the edge of the room and chairs littered about the center. Large rugs of various shapes and sizes overlapped and often left vast expanses of wood floor bare. Pillows were everywhere, blankets too. Occasionally there would be a small table of any sort of shape imaginable, and on its top would be a tray of tea and some type of snack. The snacks could be anything from raw meat to luscious looking cakes and fruits and cheeses.

Sitting, all sunken in, on one particularly large sofa was a short old man, fat, bald, and aging. The size of the furniture in which he was so immersed dwarfed him. Sitting next to him on the couch was a man wearing a large turtle shell with three short tails poking out the back. He appeared fairly old and he was having a lazy, half hearted conversation with the older man at his right. On the other side of the short man was petite red bird with a long flexible neck like a flamingo, and the head of a swan. Its long four tail feathers were like those of a peacock but moved like those of a cat. Its head was resting peacefully in the short man's lap where he was stroking its smooth crimson feathers. On the floor at his feet were the two beings' own offspring: four red birds and three turtles, dozing in the calm afternoon.

On the other side of the room, in the corner were two men who appeared to be the youngest of the group, one Sasuke recognized immediately was the Kyuubi. The other was a man with ears like a jack rabbit but were snow white, he had long legs bent with a few more joints than a human's, and eight thin, spindly white tails. Dancing about at his feet were two small white jack rabbits, who were playing some sort of game which involved chasing each other about and nipping at each other's heels. Their father didn't seem to notice hardly at all. In a chair nearby was a short and squat beaver with dark green fur and five thick flat tails. Only one smaller beaver could be seen lolling about on the larger's belly but Sasuke guessed there might be four others somewhere.

Sitting on the floor near the panthers, sipping tea and playing a game of pai show were two graceful women. One had short brown ears like a deer and long elegant horns. Six short tails poked out from under her robe but were almost covered from sight by her long white hair which cascaded down her back. Her opponent was a much taller woman with silver scales for skin and long talons where her fingernails should be. She tapped her deadly claws on the wooden floor as her seven thick scaly tails swept across the floor lazily. No children could be seen near them though Sasuke was sure he heard excited chattering from a room somewhere in the massive home they'd entered.

As soon as Gaara, Shukaku, and Sasuke entered the room everyone stirred, their attentions fixated on the doorway. Several of the larger animals, and humans tensed, clearly displeased with the presence of a mortal. The only one who didn't seem to mind too much was the old man, though the Kyuubi didn't particularly mind either seeing as Sasuke was his kit's 'mate' and all. Sasuke bristled at the thought but again said nothing.

"Ah, my daughter and my newest grandson." The old man grinned as he approached them, which required disentangling himself from seven of his grandchildren. How he did so with such grace, Sasuke would never comprehend.

"Hello father."

"Hi grandpa."

"Um….hi?" Shukaku shot him a glare when he deigned to speak, but Gaara merely chuckled.

"Yes, hello, Sasuke." The fat man nodded, "Shu, Gaara, how bout you go sit down and have some tea."

Shukaku shuffled off as did Gaara. Leaving Sasuke alone with this man he knew and yet didn't know. The man rested one hand on his shoulder and nodded as if answering some question Sasuke had asked him. But Sasuke hadn't said anything.

"Sasuke, there is no need to be in such a rush. You will be here when it is your time to be here."

"You mean I'm going to come here with Naruto…when all is said and done?"

"Ah, Sasuke, always so curious…"

"I'm not curious, I need to know! Naruto needs to know!"

"…but don't you have somewhere you need to be?"

* * *

Sasuke gasped as he was suddenly sitting up in a cramped tent. Kakashi and Naruto were shifting next to him, both giving him an odd look. Sasuke wanted to tell Naruto what he'd just seen, heard, where he'd _been_. But he didn't have the chance, suddenly there was someone in their camp, and they'd managed to get past all of their traps without setting any off. In a flash all four of them were out of their tents, forming seals, hurling kunai, but none of them were prepared for what came next.

Their fire was swept up in the air all around them, spreading through the trees surrounding their camp. Everything was ablaze, and their attacker had disappeared. There was no clear escape route as everything was blocked off by flames. Smoke was making their eyes water and filling their lungs at painful speeds. Kakashi had the thought to try a water summoning jutsu, but there was no moisture in the air for him to use. Even if he'd managed to summon up any water it wouldn't have been effective. With the smoke making it harder to breathe and the heat exhausting them there was nothing that Kakashi could do, or really any of them. Kyuubi was making his attempts to create some way to get out of there but as all mighty and powerful as he might be he was still subject to smoke inhalation in his smaller, bound form. Naruto found him and handed him a Kunai and lifted one of his own up weakly. He gestured for him to do as he did. Sasuke nodded; his vision going and his nose running. He felt like he might pass out at any moment.

Naruto took his kunai and held it over his heart. Gathering chakra into his hand he forced the blade through his jacket and into his chest. Sasuke watched as Naruto fell to the ground, the light fast leaving his eyes. Sakura and Kakashi were coming near him, trying to stop him from doing the same. He stared down at his hand holding the kunai and looking to Naruto. Whether he killed himself now or he let himself die slowly from the effects of this agonizing inferno, he would die. It was a fact. Sasuke was never one to be afraid of death. Mimicking Naruto he focused chakra on his hand to give it a bit more strength, and then he plunged the kunai into his chest and through his heart. He didn't even have the strength to scream as he fell to the ground. He could feel his heart trying to pump around the kunai, but soon he could see Kakashi and Sakura falling too. The last thing he saw was Naruto's face, empty, soulless for the person within had moved on already. As he could feel his last bit of energy leave him he saw the flames vanish, doused by a powerful geyser of water. Standing around them was an elite ANBU team, from Konoha. They parted to allow an tall man with a walking stick and his arm in a sling to hobble into the clearing. He opened his mouth to speak, and everything went black.

End of Part 1.


	9. Fox Den: Chapter 1

**Fate's Garden**

Part 2 - Fox Den

Chapter 1 - Moist

* * *

Sasuke groaned. His chest ached and his whole body was filled with a powerful lethargy. He opened his eyes and realized he hadn't crossed over yet. There was a thick blanket laid over him and a comfortable pillow beneath his head. He was lying on one of the enormous leather sofas he'd seen during his last visit. So he was in the living room of the grandfather's house. Sasuke turned his head to the side and saw the old man himself sitting on the floor drinking tea, the Kyuubi in his animal form lying on one of the many colorful area rugs. They were having a serious conversation it seemed. How long had he been there before he woke up?

"What you're asking for, my childe, is something that I have never granted to any of your siblings? You would have me single you out as the only one to have such a privilege?"

"Father that's not what I meant…" Kyuubi sighed, "I was merely making a suggestion as to where you should send them next. It is their second to last lifetime and I think it would benefit them."

"Your suggestion has been heard. Whether I choose to follow it is another matter all together."

"You better not follow it, father." A familiar voice threatened.

"Ah, my daughter, how are you? I was not expecting you."

Sasuke sunk a little bit deeper into the couch when he recognized Shukaku's voice. He had a feeling he would never get along with her. But, wait a minute, that didn't look like her. Maybe he was in luck. A short woman with curves to spare and more than a little meat on her bones had entered the room. Her hair was shoulder length and full, it was a dark golden brown and her yellow eyes were angry. Sasuke figured soon enough that this was Shukaku's human form, just that he'd never seen it before. He sighed and continued in his attempt to hide from her.

"I am fine father. But that is not the reason I am here. I have heard of my baby brother's plans to orchestrate which lives his kit shall experience."

"Shu, stay out of this. This is none of your business." Kyuubi growled.

"None of my business?!" Shukaku rattled.

"Yes! He is _my_ kit, not yours!"

"Well, he's _my_ nephew, and my kit didn't get the privilege of having his mother pick out his lives for him. Why should your son get that luxury?"

"I'm not picking them all out! I'm suggesting which one he should go to next!"

"Oh, as if that's any different. You fox, I know you and your ways, you sly little whelp! Always acting older than your age, as if you have more authority than those who have-"

"Ah, Sasuke, little one, I see that you have finally awakened." The room instantly became silent as the two siblings argument came to a screeching halt.

"Hello, how long have I been here?" Sasuke mumbled weakly. He was so tired; who knew death could be so exhausting?

"Time has no meaning for us, asking such questions would be useless." Shukaku snarled.

"I guess that, due to your mortal biological clock still being in working order you might have spent a few hours in our realm. Though my daughter's statement is correct, we have no sense of time here, for it does not exist for us as it does for you."

"Ah."

"Now what do you think of all of this, little one?" The old man waved his hands towards Shukaku and Kyuubi.

"_Father_." Shukaku gasped, as though it was entirely blasphemous to ask the opinion of a mortal on immortal affairs.

"What do I think of what, sir?"

"Your father in-law's suggestion? Would you prefer to go to the life he has chosen for you?" The grandfather explained, "If not, then I can send you to whichever your spirits land in. It may or may not be the same as he has in mind however."

Sasuke thought about this for a minute. He propped himself up against the arm of the sofa and turned to face the small old man who was waiting for his answer. Then he turned to look at Kyuubi, this fox whom he'd always known as a demon but now saw in an entirely different light. This fox was just another father trying to look out for his son's best interests. That and he was the only adult besides the old man who didn't glare at him for being a mortal. So, yes, Kyuubi was definitely alright in Sasuke's books. He probably had picked out a nice place for them. If not _nice_ per se, it would at least be helpful. The fox himself had said it would be beneficial for Naruto in particular. Sasuke nodded.

"I'll go with whatever he chose. He's just looking out for his son, so I think that whatever he has in mind will probably be alright."

"Very well, my childe you may have your way." The old man smiled wanly as his daughter stormed off in a huff, turning into her raccoon form mid-step.

Kyuubi bowed to his father and licked his hands and face in thanks. The old man turned to face Sasuke, and as soon as their eyes met he was roughly yanked out of their realm. It was almost as if someone had grabbed him by the neck and wrenched him backwards. Now he found himself in somewhere that was neither clearly his next life nor the gardens. Standing at his side was the rabbit man he'd seen talking to Kyuubi during tea time. He smiled amiably at him.

"Hello Sasuke, my name is Yuuta, I will be your uncle soon I guess. It's very nice to get to meet you."

"Um, nice to meet you too?" Sasuke offered feebly.

Gazing at his surroundings in confusion he asked, "Where are we?"

All he saw were doors. They were standing in a hallway that stretched on forever in either direction. The walls were covered in peeling brown wallpaper and the doors were cracked slightly or had chunks missing from them. The brass doorknobs were all a little rusty or stained. In fact the carpet beneath his feet was pretty dingy also.

"This is the universe." Yuuta said.

"The universe? This place?"

"Perhaps not the physical universe that you know, such as the galaxy you live in, with the moon and the sun and the stars." He corrected, "But this is the physical representation of the gathering of all the possible different worlds that might have come about when the world was first created."

"Why is it so disgusting?" Sasuke wondered. When he realized he'd said it out loud he coughed politely and stared at his feet.

Yuuta chuckled at his anxiety, "Do not worry, you have not offended me."

Sasuke sighed in relief. "Well then, why is it like this?"

"This hallway is as I said the physical representation of such a gathering. But as everyone views the universe differently it appears different to all of us." Yuuta explained, "I am not seeing necessarily the same hallway as you are so I do not understand what you mean by disgusting."

"Huh?"

Sasuke made sure to look closely at the walls, the doors. He even got down on his knees and inspected the carpet. It remained the same filthy hall as it had been the last time he examined it. He turned to Yuuta and asked him what he saw.

"I see a corridor that has plain wood floors, a sort of beige paint on the walls and very old doors." Yuuta replied, "All in all it just feels a little boring, but nothing is clearly in disrepair."

"Hn." Sasuke grunted.

"Very well, I've probably kept you for long enough."

The tall man stepped towards the door directly in front of them. He opened it to reveal…nothing. All Sasuke saw was an inky blackness, as if all that lay beyond the door was a room with the lights turned off. He rose to his feet and came to stand before the door. Yuuta stood aside and encouraged him to 'go on now'. Sasuke gave him a quick look before taking one tentative step into the room. But there was no floor in that sea of shadows and he immediately fell forward. He cried out as he fell through the dark twisting his head around to look up at the door that was growing smaller and smaller, until Yuuta apparently shut it because the light disappeared, and he opened his eyes in a new world.

* * *

Naruto shifted wearily. He was exhausted, and a little sore but otherwise fine. He opened his eyes and found himself in a cave. It was very warm in there, and the rock floor beneath him was surprisingly smooth. He stretched his long legs and arms, yawning widely as he did so. As he stretched his head almost touched the ceiling. Alright, not cave, burrow. He shook his head. It was time he figured out exactly what world he'd been dropped into this time. He padded out of the burrow, squeezing his way out and into the…snow? _Ah! Snow is cold!_ He shivered and hopped about from foot to foot until something caught his eye. His foot prints didn't look right. They looked like paw prints. Wait, his hands? Those weren't _his_ hands were they? Those looked like…like…Naruto panicked. He ran, and ran and ran. He had to find something he could use to see his reflection.

The wind around him didn't feel too cold; mostly it was the snow on the sensitive pads of his paws. No, not paws! He shook his head, almost running into a tree on accident. Everything whizzed past him as he loped along through this forest he'd woken up in. He was moving so fast. He kept going, suddenly bursting out of the trees into a clearing where a small pond lay frozen. Tentatively he approached it, scared at what he might find. Leaning over the ice he peered at it hoping to see a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. Well, he almost had what he wanted. Staring back at him with narrowed blue eyes was the image of a yellow furred fox. His long ears twitched at the sounds of something moving through the trees. He tensed, instinctively sniffing the air. A familiar scent filled his nose and he relaxed. Now he didn't have to go looking for him.

"Sasuke!" He shouted, whirling around. There he was, standing at the edge of the clearing with eyes wide and with one kunai in his hand. Why was he so small looking? He looked like he might be as tall as his ankle.

"Sasuke, it's me…Naruto…" He tried. But there was something strange about his voice. It didn't sound quite right. He shook his head, Sasuke probably didn't understand him.

Lifting one paw and angling it to the side he tried to use his claw to spell out his message in the snow. Sasuke saw his attempts and stayed where he was, but it seemed that his eyes made out the general shape of his words. He hurried forward and looked up at him. Naruto lay down in the snow resting his head down on the ground between his front legs. Now the top of his nose came to Sasuke's waist. The avenger moved around to stand at the side of his muzzle. He rested one hand on the top of it, stroking the stiff fur there absent mindedly.

"Well, I guess I screwed up, dobe. This one's my fault."

Naruto made a grunt that he hoped sounded as confused as he felt.

"I didn't cross over right away like you did, I guess. Though when I showed up I was in the same cave as you, I just didn't know it was you…"

Naruto grunted for him to explain himself. This was going to be frustrating, not being able to talk.

"I was in the gods' place again. Kyuubi was talking with his dad about the next life we were going to. He said that he had one in mind that would be good for us." Naruto grunted again to tell him to continue.

"And then Shukaku came in and started bitching about how Gaara didn't have a choice like that so we shouldn't either or something. She hates me, just so you know. A lot of your aunts and uncles do, cuz I'm a mortal, they say." Naruto growled at the thought of this family of his hating Sasuke. Well if they hated him then that was there problem. "So your grandfather asked me what I thought…"

Naruto sighed and rolled his eyes. His sigh came out like a wheeze, and it came out through his nose. Sasuke understood well enough for he nodded and said, 'yeah, sorry'.

"He asked if I thought Kyuubi's suggestion would be a good idea and I figured, you know, he just as your best interests at heart and it would probably be a good idea…but I hadn't thought it would be anything like this."

Great. Naruto was a giant fox, they were in the middle of nowhere, and it was snowing. At least they were together. They were going to have to find a way to perfect a system of communication. There was no way that Naruto was going to go for years having Sasuke unable to understand him. Suddenly they had a visitor. A fox, a girl fox, a vixen, _his_ vixen entered the clearing. How Naruto knew this he wasn't sure. He just knew. She had a coarse fuchsia coat and dark brown eyes. She was a bit shorter than him but for some reason her hips were quite appealing to him. She was beautiful. Naruto shook his head, unintentionally knocking Sasuke over in the process. Oh yeah, he was small now. He forgot.

"Thanks dobe, watch it would ya?"

"Sorry…" He tried to sound apologetic but it came out as a whine and a short pant.

"Why do you try to speak human with your pet?" His vixen asked. Naruto twitched, startled at being able to understand her. He wasn't sure why this was a shock; he was a fox now after all.

"I'm just tired of him not being able to understand me, it's weird." He said then thoughtfully adding, "And he's not my pet."

"Then what is he? You take him as your demon form almost every day. You do not eat him, nor keep him captive from the humans and he clearly stays here of his own choosing."

Demon form. Naruto's brow furrowed as he tried to summon up the memories of this fox-Naruto's world. Take him…? Vague images were moving about in his mind, actions that were not his own, and nights filled with lust that surely were not…Naruto's eyes widened as the meaning of his mate's words rung true in his head. He snarled at her.

"He is not my pet, he is a friend."

The vixen tucked her tail between her legs and walked with her back hunched, low to the ground. When Naruto snapped his jaw in her direction she yelped as if he'd actually bitten her and darted out of the clearing. He had to figure out roughly from this Naruto's memories how to use this demon form his mate spoke of. Maybe when in that form he could speak in a way Sasuke would understand? As he sifted through the memories he could find Sasuke was trying to get his attention.

"Hey dobe, what was that about? Who was she?"

"My mate, she said…oh never mind." Naruto rolled his eyes. He stood up and moved away from Sasuke so he could write it in the snow.

His message complete Sasuke moved carefully around it so he could read it right side up. "Your mate? How do you know?"

Naruto tried to shrug but it came out weird and somehow made him fall to the ground. He looked around to find Sasuke and saw him fallen over on his rear. The force of him collapsing on the ground must have shaken him. He laughed and heard himself use the laugh that he found so amusing on Kyuubi. Wait. Where was the demon fox anyways? Naruto wished he knew where they were and if it would be wise to go in search of Konoha. Maybe they could find out more from there. He relayed the idea via claw in snow but Sasuke shook his head.

"I don't think so; I'm getting the feeling that if we went back there it wouldn't turn out so well."

"Why?" Naruto asked, unable to help himself.

"I don't know, just like you know that chick was your mate, I just know we can't go back."

"Wait, did you just understand me?"

"Naruto, just quit it already I don't speak fox."

Nope, just his tone had carried over. Damnit.

* * *

Sasuke sighed. This was going to be nearly impossible. Naruto kept trying to talk to him; clearly he was making his best efforts. But all that came out was a strange mixture of panting, barking, whining and snorting. The snow writing was working pretty well but Sasuke doubted he could learn how to speak fox. It wasn't just another language; it was another set of vocal chords. When he awakened in a cave probably as tall as the hokage's tower, curled up at the side of a giant fox Sasuke had felt like an idiot. Why did he trust that idiotic god again? But now here he was thinking the same thing, just not as strongly. It made sense now. Naruto was learning how to function in his animal form. He couldn't talk like the gods could in theirs, but it was a start. Being around the dobe while he was a fox like this would also help prepare Sasuke for dealing with it when they got to the garden. It would be a learning experience. A very frustrating one, but nonetheless it was a practical and effective one. Sasuke tried to 

explain this thought to Naruto. The dobe snorted sarcastically and shook his giant fox head. _Well great_ he probably said.

"Hey, it's a good idea."

The dobe ignored him, instead standing up and in two steps reaching the edge of the clearing. He inclined his head in the direction of the cave and disappeared into the trees. _C'mon, let's go talk about this where it's warm, my feet are getting cold_. Probably a direct translation. Sasuke sighed. He was getting cold too. Unlike Naruto, Sasuke didn't have a thick coat of fur to keep him warm in the middle of the freezing cold winter. So he followed the paw prints back to the cave where Naruto was lying down quite comfortably…on top of his mate. Or at least Sasuke thought it was the same vixen from earlier, he couldn't be quite sure. The female fox was squished down against the cave floor, her head thrown back as she yowled and panted, occasionally grunting and barking. Naruto was bearing down on her his fore legs clenching tightly around her ribcage. Every once in a while he would nip at her neck. Sasuke opened his mouth to demand why it was that Naruto felt the need to smother her like this. But then as he took notice of Naruto's hips moving in quick succession he closed his mouth and felt slightly sick to his stomach.

After a few more minutes he stopped, panting shallowly and barking, he lifted himself out of her and off and she darted to the mouth of the cave. She turned back yipping and whining, and then she smiled in that odd fox way that Kyuubi had in their last life. She glanced at Sasuke once before leaving as if she was merely noting his presence. Then she pushed herself through the entrance that was massive to Sasuke yet barely big enough for Naruto and his mate.

There was a sudden bark and then whining that caught Sasuke's attention. Naruto was staring at him with widened eyes, he was shuffling away from him, low to the ground with his tail tucked between his legs and his back arched. So it was that Sasuke remembered why he felt nauseous.

"What was that?! Huh?" Sasuke snapped, "Have you forgotten that you're actually a person? As in a human, not a fox?"

* * *

No, no, no! He hadn't forgotten! Naruto couldn't bear to look at Sasuke. He felt sick, he felt disgusting. He hadn't known what he was doing. It was weird and gross but at the same time amazing. It felt perfectly normal at the time. He had no idea what was wrong with him. But as soon as he'd found Sasuke and started talking with him he grew used to the body, it didn't even feel that weird to him after the initial shock. Maybe it was because he'd always sort of been part fox before? So the thought of really being one wasn't that horrifying? He didn't really know. All he did know was he came in to the cave to get out of the cold and to talk it out with Sasuke and there she was. His mate was lying there grooming her beautiful fur, the taut firm muscles in her hips flexing, taunting him. Then she'd looked at him, her eyes gleaming and he'd just…lost it. That was the only way to describe it. He'd stopped thinking like a human after that and just let go. It was exhilarating and yet frightening in hind sight. Sasuke said that sending them to this life had all been his dad's idea. Well, as soon as they got to the garden, Naruto decided that he was going to have some _words_ with him.

**TBC…**


	10. Fox Den: Chapter 2

Fate's Garden

Part 2 - Fox Den

Chapter 2 - Profound

* * *

Over the course of their first few weeks a good many things were discovered about their 'new life'. Most of the acquired information came from Naruto's fox relations he inadvertently ran into, and then the rest came from his swift returning memories. There were several things they found out that startled Naruto at first, but didn't necessarily make him feel too bad. But then he would relay the information to Sasuke via claw in snow and the brooding avenger would practically explode. It was as if he decided to hold Naruto accountable for all of this Naruto's actions. They were different people! How could Sasuke be angry at him for it?

The things Sasuke would be angry at him for were things like Naruto's significantly extended 'fox family'. According to the somewhat imperious fox hierarchy, Kyuubi was no longer bound to him and was in fact the reigning fox demon in their territory. Then, second to him was Naruto. They had a tenuous co-ruling status over all of the females and lesser males within their land. There was a set of females that he and Kyuubi shared and then one for each of them marked as only theirs. These marked females were known to them as 'mate' or 'bitch' and to everyone else as Ruko and Shii. Ruko being Naruto's and Shii being Kyuubi's. Ruko and Shii were the ruling females who kept the others in line and made sure they didn't leave the territory to mate with any other males. While Naruto and Kyuubi were responsible for chasing all renegade males out of their territory or keeping them in line so all they did was find food for the females.

As it was, with this sort of set up, the potential number of progeny Naruto had produced over the years of him being a fox was impossible to count. Any of the vixens on his land that he had spawned simply stayed to find food for the mating females or they left along with his sons. After a few dazed minutes of his human brain trying to comprehend this situation he relaxed entirely as his fox mind told him it was perfectly acceptable. Really, in this society it was expected and perfectly normal. So, Naruto went with it, while Sasuke remained disgusted and disapproving. After a week or two of Sasuke acting this way towards the foxes Naruto had to pull him aside and inform him of the delicate situation he was in. The only reason that he was alive and safe here was because he had Naruto protecting him. While Naruto would protect him from the others he would really not like to have an all out fight for dominance come about. If he went around bad mouthing the giant fox demons that were kindly not eating him, this fight would happen sooner rather than later. There was only so long that a clan of demons would put up with their lord's 'pet' and his snide words.

The other things that Sasuke would be angry at him for were the things that Naruto had yet to tell him. The things he hadn't told him were big too. Not things that should be kept but are out of all consuming fear. The back history of this world was not one that Naruto was proud of. It had followed the same timeline as his for the most part. He'd chased after Sasuke all those years and finally met up with him at Orochimaru's base. But instead of dying he'd finished out the fight and returned to Konoha. Then…then he'd given up. That was the only way to say it. He'd withdrawn into himself after this decisive encounter. Though Sasuke didn't know, and couldn't know, that day Naruto had lost Sasuke again. Not lost to him, but lost _him_. _Again_. This Naruto began planning various suicides until Kyuubi intervened and offered him another way out.

This way out involved Naruto leaving in the middle of the night and working his seal backwards about halfway. Much like his second life Kyuubi was bound to him outside his body. This was the first part of the plan. Then, Kyuubi took him back to the lands of the other fox demons. He strode before them and demanded that they recognize their true ruler, him, and his kit as their prince. So they did. They broke the binding on Naruto and Kyuubi. There was one problem, and Naruto briefly wondered if this was true in the life he'd just left behind. It was that with Kyuubi bound to him and then leashed to him outside his body, they'd been spliced. Naruto had the smallest trace of fox DNA woven in with his. It was so slight that it didn't affect him on a day-to-day basis. But in this world it made all the difference. With their demon magic they drew upon that one strand of fox genes and used it to turn him into one of them. That was the beginning of his life as a fox demon.

This led to Jiraiya and Tsunade coming after him to beg him to return. But, once they realized he was fully turned there was no way for him to come back to their world. So it was worked out, a tenuous pact between the fox demons and Konoha. Kyuubi would not wreak havoc upon any human lands and would remain within his own society. Naruto's crimes, notably as being a missing nin abandoning his village, would be forgiven as long as he acted as a liaison between the fox world and the human world. Twice a year, once in the spring and once in the winter, he would travel to Konoha and stay there for a week in his human form, or 'demon form' as Naruto found out in his memories. A man with fox ears and one long fox tail, slit pupils and slightly longer than normal canines. His senses remained enhanced and he had dual sets of vocal chords that allowed him to speak both fox and human. Everything else about him was completely human.

So for the next few years, up until he turned nineteen in human years, this was the life he lived. He stayed with the foxes and carried on as usual, and twice a year he would return to the human world to appease the humans that he'd left. But this arrangement was disrupted in the year he turned nineteen, when Sasuke had been brought home and thusly enlightened to the situation surrounding Naruto and his 'new life'. That had been the most awkward moment of Naruto's life. The last Naruto had heard on the subject of Sasuke was that he'd been captured by Akatsuki during Naruto's seventeenth year and was presumed dead. When Naruto had returned home that year he had alerted his clan of the loss of his human mate and the clan had grieved with him for a year. There was nothing more serious in the society of the fox than that of losing a mate. For foxes mated for life. To lose one's mate was unbearable. This was why in fox society there was no such thing as mate thieves, and when there were, those thieves were shunned, if not outright killed by their fellows. To be a mate thief was to be the lowest of the low, the single worst crime one fox could commit against another.

But then, there was Sasuke very much alive. Naruto's memories of that day were filled with a whirlwind of vivid emotions: relief so profound as to be indescribable, joy, excitement. Then there was confusion, shame, embarrassment, grief.

* * *

_Naruto had been in Konoha for three days of the week he spent during the spring. He found out later that Sasuke had been there already for a few months and that they were just trying to figure out the best way to tell him. Then was the day that he found out, Sasuke was alive! He was fine, he was there, and he was…standing right there. Naruto was in Tsunade's office speaking with her on the state of his clan and his latest children when the door to the office opened. Naruto's ears had twitched at the sound of two pairs of footsteps in the hallway. But only one had come into the office. He saw that it was Sakura and smiled. The only way he'd been able to describe his relation to her to his clan was that she was a litter mate. Telling them she was a friend or a team mate made no sense since they did not understand such words and she was female. If he said he loved her they would presume she was an old bitch of his. _

_Sakura smiled back weakly and looked to Tsunade with anxiety on her face. "Tsunade-sama, do you think…?"_

"_Has he agreed to meet him?"_

"_Yes, but…"_

"_Then bring him in."_

"_Yes, o-of course Tsunade-sama."_

_Naruto sniffed the air. He'd caught the scent of course, but he'd passed it off as him being wistful, nostalgic. But now he smelled it again. His eyes widened and his ears tensed as he heard the door to the office open and a second pair of footsteps enter the room. He turned to face the new arrival and thought for sure his heart would stop. Sasuke was standing at Sakura's side, his eyes just as wide and disbelieving. _

"_Um, Naruto…" _

_Naruto couldn't peel his eyes off of Sasuke, even though Sakura was talking to him at that moment. She was telling him something, probably important. But he couldn't bring himself to pay attention to anything else. Finally he couldn't stand it. Naruto sped across the room and gathered Sasuke in his arms, holding him close. In his joy he reverted to speaking fox. He panted and whined and whimpered as tears leaked from his eyes. He was alive, he was alive…Naruto practically howled as shivers rolled through his body. His shoulders shook as he cried. _

_A pestering voice interrupted him, it was Sakura. "Naruto, Sasuke's having trouble breathing…"_

_He let him go and stepped back a few paces. Then he looked to Sakura, a wide smiled lighting up his face. But, then it seemed some of her words from a few moments ago were just then registering. Sasuke had been there for a few months and no one had sent for him? No one had told him? He snarled at her, his words first coming out in fox speak, but he forced himself to speak human so she could fully understand his anger._

"_He…he was here for a few months and you didn't think to tell me?" Naruto growled._

"_Naruto, we know you're busy during that time of the year and we didn't want to disturb you…" Sakura started._

"_Disturb me? Sakura! How could you think you would be disturbing me? I would have left Ruko in charge while I was gone, everything would have been fine! You know that! How could you not tell me he was alive?" Naruto felt his eyes glaze over with more tears._

"_I'm sorry Naruto…"_

"_Do you know that in fox society losing a mate is the most terrible…thing…?" Naruto was wheezing his words as his tears started affecting his dual vocal chords, "…when I got home my whole clan grieved with me. And for these past few months he was here and you didn't think that maybe I'd want to know…?"_

"_I'm so sorry." Sakura looked like she might be crying too. _

"_So does mate mean rival and enemy in fox or something?" Those were the first words Sasuke said to him in four years. _

_The embarrassment didn't really sink in until later. Naruto blinked away his tears so he could see Sasuke clearly. He didn't even think to be embarrassed. It wasn't an emotion that foxes ever felt. Their lives were much simpler. Sasuke had simply stood there during Naruto's outburst, staring at him with that impassive mask. He was wearing his forehead protector again, the one with the scratch mark in it. At the moment Naruto wasn't embarrassed he was amused and slightly confused as well._

"_Of course not. Though it has a broader meaning and importance than it does in human it generally has the same definition." Naruto answered easily. _

_Sasuke closed his eyes in exasperation. The awkward silence that befell the room alerted Naruto to what he was saying and the implications therein. He blinked and then wondered why this was so surprising. He didn't realize he'd asked that question aloud._

"_Surprising? Naruto…since when have I been your mate? Ever?" Sasuke asked incredulously. Naruto shook his head and honestly thought about it. This conversation was only so easy because he was thinking mostly with his fox brain, as his human mind had all but left him. _

"_Well, I'd say since that one day on the unfinished bridge. When we were still a litter." Naruto replied honestly._

_Sakura smiled to herself as Naruto spoke in fox terminology, and also at the memory. _

"_I remember, when the ice man had blocked us in, and was hitting us with so much ice, I remember seeing you fall to the ground presumably dead." Naruto felt his lip curl up to reveal his sharp __teeth at the thought of Sasuke dead, "I remember being so angry, and sad, and that I was thinking only fox then…I had to kill that ice man, he'd killed my mate."_

"_But I started thinking human again somehow and you know how the rest went." Naruto waved one clawed human hand in the air. _

"_But…why would you think that? Naruto we hated each other." Sasuke sounded like he couldn't believe Naruto was even thinking such things._

"_Oh, of course on the surface we hated each other. Humans worry so much about trivial things. They are more complex than they need to be. But think Sasuke; was there a time when you worried so much about anyone else? Not your brother, that's not the same." Sasuke glared but said nothing. _

"_There are so many things that affect humans when they choose a mate, whether they are male or female, how they look, if they get along with their mother or father, or their litter mates…" Naruto trailed off, "But in fox society it's not like that. It's so much easier."_

"_Well it's a good thing you turned your back on us humans, right?" Naruto's brow knitted together as he heard the underlying statement, 'I'm angry at you.'_

"_You're angry." Naruto said simply._

_Sasuke's jaw stiffened and he merely glared. There was nothing he could say to that. He couldn't say he wasn't angry but he was never the type to openly explain his feelings, for that would be to admit he had them. Naruto cocked his head to the side and surveyed his mate._

"_You're angry that I didn't wait for you."_

"_No!" Sasuke retorted. But the way he crossed his arms said otherwise._

"_I can apologize but not excuse my behavior. During those few weeks before I turned, I was still human. I'd lost you again and I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't lose you again. You should be grateful that I am what I am now, if I wasn't, I'd be dead instead." _

_Sakura gaped at him, "Naruto…?"_

"_Oh, I'm sorry Sakura; I forgot that I hadn't told any of you." Naruto yawned._

_Naruto was getting a bit tired of all of this. He'd forgotten how difficult humans were, and how overly complex. He gave Sasuke an imperious look. _

"_You are my mate, and I am taking you home at the end of the week." Naruto told Sasuke. He did not ask, nor demand: he said. To this statement, Sasuke said nothing._

* * *

That was that, well, mostly. Naruto remembered there being a lot of political frustration and hoops he had to jump through, both officially and emotionally. Getting Sasuke to come with him was a large leap. Eventually when it came down to Naruto telling Tsunade he would turn back into his fox form and forcibly take Sasuke with him the elder council forced Sasuke to leave, for the sake of keeping the peace between the two allied societies. This single memory of both how to assume his demon form, and of his giving up on Sasuke, were the big secrets Naruto was keeping. Of course he was hiding them for entirely different reasons. Giving up on Sasuke hit too close to home, since that's what he'd done when he hadn't dodged in his first life. His demon form enabled him to talk to Sasuke in human speak. Not being able to speak to him had its advantages. When Sasuke was berating him for some such he could ignore him and use the excuse of not being able to talk. Naruto rather liked having that excuse.

But, as winter started changing to spring Naruto knew he would have to tell Sasuke about their visit to Konoha. The first week of spring they were supposed to start making their way to their old village. Naruto knew from his memories that he couldn't arrive alone. Sasuke acted as any spouse of a political dignitary would, and was meant to come with him. Apparently it'd been five years since Sasuke had left the human world. They were twenty six in human years.

Naruto was woken up the morning they were supposed to leave by his mate Ruko. They slept curled up on one side of their cave with Sasuke resting on his back. She stretched and yawned widely before nudging him with her nose. Naruto yawned and blinked up at her.

"Mate, it is time for you and your pet to make your trip to the human village." Ruko told him.

"Yes, I know. Thank you for waking me, mate." Naruto rolled his shoulders to wake up Sasuke.

"I'm up, I'm up." Sasuke groaned.

Naruto's human mate climbed down his side to the cave floor. He headed for the mouth of the cave so he could start about his morning routine. Naruto waited for him to finish such necessities. Ruko licked his snout before telling him she was going out to find some breakfast and check on the females. Naruto nodded weakly, and then saw Sasuke come in.

* * *

Sasuke gave his hair a weak tug to get any extra water from it as he reentered the cave. The one thing that he hated about this life was that they were in fact in the middle of nowhere. The things he knew from going on extended missions and camping out, he didn't necessarily enjoy having to do. Such things were using the outdoors as your bathroom. Digging small holes for your waste and burying it like a cat would, and bathing in a different water source than the one you drank from. What fruit and plants were edible and how to balance it with any meat intake you had. He was used to it now, having to wake up every morning and go outside to do his business. He still detested it a bit.

There was one thing about this mortal as opposed to child of a god business he detested. Though Sasuke did gain some memories from the other Sasuke's life, they were far and few between, and vague, abstract. Naruto gained them in leaps and bounds, vivid memories. Sasuke knew there were some that Naruto was hiding, and he couldn't imagine why. What could be so horrible that the dobe would be ashamed to tell him?

Another thing about functioning in this life was communicating with Naruto. The snow was fading as they moved into spring, and writing on cave walls and trees wasn't the greatest system of communication. But, even though Sasuke had admitted he would never be able to speak fox, he was starting to have a disconcerting grasp of what meant what. He would never form a coherent sentence out of their strange sounds but he could get a general sense of what they meant. So when Naruto turned to him and let out a short set of barks and wide mouth pants Sasuke gathered that they needed to have a talk. An important one.

Naruto got up and exited the cave, barking once he was outside. Apparently they were going to walk and talk. Sasuke followed him out and across the territory he had come to know quite well. On their way they ran into several of the clan members. Naruto would snarl at some, or yip at others. Sasuke gave them all a brief nod. Finally they reached the very edge of Naruto's land, and Sasuke became confused as they crossed the border and made their way farther out of the forest.

"Dobe, where are we going?"

A jovial yip and a short bark, punctuated by a pant and a fox smile. _You'll see, it's okay._ Sasuke nodded. When they came to a small dirt path they stopped, Sasuke could see a village in the distance, not one he knew, and not a ninja village. Then, all of a sudden there was no giant fox beside him. Sasuke stepped back, startled, until he realized what he was seeing. There was a blonde, blue eyed version of the Kyuubi's human form standing before him...and he was stark naked.

"Sasuke, can you understand me?" This last fact didn't seem to bother the dobe in the slightest however. Or he merely didn't notice. Either was likely.

"Y-yeah." Sasuke started slightly at hearing the dobe's voice again after all this time without it. It was a little deeper and more grown up, but definitely Naruto. Sasuke couldn't believe how comforting it was to hear it.

"Hey, wait, how long have you known how to do that dobe?" Sasuke shouted.

"A while-"

"A while?"

"Sasuke calm down, I need to tell you some things…that are kinda important."

Sasuke nodded. So it was that Naruto enlightened him to the things that Sasuke figured were being kept from him. The mystery of what shamed Naruto so much was now there for him to see. The reason they were out here. Sasuke stared at the ground beneath his bare feet. He…didn't really have anything to say. He wasn't angry, or upset really. He was just sort of nothing. It seemed that as soon as Naruto had told him what had happened, his head was filled with memories of the other Sasuke.

"I'm sorry…I gave up on y-"

"It's fine." Sasuke felt the words leap out of his mouth before he could stop them. He didn't want to hear Naruto say it again. He couldn't…they should just go. They were expected in Konoha in a few days by Sasuke's now all too clear memories.

For a while neither of them could bring themselves to say anything. Thankfully they didn't have to start a conversation as Ruko caught up to them and began speaking to Naruto. The dobe answered in fox and Ruko nodded before heading back the way she came.

"She wanted to know if we wanted to eat with the clan or if we were going to stop in the village and eat before we headed out."

"And you told her what?"

"We were going to eat in the village. As you know by the way you're beet red I'm going to need some human clothes to wear while we're around other people. I'm sure you've been lusting after some human food."

Sasuke had been. He nodded. Naruto quickly returned to his fox form and lowered himself to the ground so that Sasuke could climb up onto his back. Then they started towards the town Sasuke had noticed earlier. Though now the mystery was gone, Sasuke felt he wished he was still in the dark.

**TBC…**


	11. Fox Den: Chapter 3

**Fate's Garden**

Part 2 - Fox Den

Chapter 3 - Sweet Calm

* * *

By the time they'd passed their fourth weary traveler, Naruto had gradually reduced his size as a fox to a little taller than a draft horse. The village was no longer in sight as they had descended from the highlands, all Sasuke could see in any direction were more trees. He loosely touched his knees to Naruto's ribs to keep his balance, and lay forward on his stomach. His head rested on his folded arms in between the dobe's shoulder blades. They were moving at a leisurely enough pace, and with his newly regained memories of this same trip, he knew that they would arrive at the village in time for a light lunch.

The breeze was cool on his bare back, and it made him shiver. When it began to get warmer, and the snow melted, Sasuke found it much easier to don only a pair of beat up shorts, and leave his shoes in the cave. Having to routinely take a full set of clothes down to the bathing river and pound stains out of them with rocks he'd found was not pleasant. It took up a good portion of the day and was hard work. Never before had Sasuke appreciated washing machines nearly as much as he did in this life. Once Naruto had reduced his size any travelers they ran into seemed to recognize them and wave, or offer a polite 'hello there!' Sasuke seemed to vaguely recall that yellow was a rather common coat color among fox demons, and not all could control their shape and size. With Naruto much smaller and his very obvious passenger they made a much more recognizable pair.

Sasuke found he no longer was necessarily upset with the dobe, but instead, merely…tired. When he'd reviewed his memories of the years he'd been living with him in this life, he'd been somewhat surprised by what he found. He remembered that the first year had been the worst, especially the first few weeks of that year. The shock of finding out that the dobe had given up on him had worn off and led to frustration, and then an awkward guilt. The worst was the thought of Naruto openly admitting he'd had thoughts of suicide, and that the bane of his existence, Kyuubi, had been the only one to convince him otherwise. No one else had noticed.

He remembered being introduced to the main members of the clan: Ruko, Shii, Kyuubi, and at the time Ruko's newborn kits. The life he settled into was wrought with strangeness, discomfort, and fighting. It took a long time for Sasuke to accept that this was the life he had now, and that all of the demons, except for Naruto viewed him as a pet. He was a lowly human with trivial _feelings_, and overly complicated rituals that made no sense to them. He sighed.

As the sun glared down upon them from its noontime zenith, they reached the edge of town. The people reacted with varying degrees of kindness, or dislike depending on whom they greeted. Even when they ran into people who didn't particularly like them, they at least showed a modicum of respect to the 'Lord and Lordess' of the presiding fox demon clan. Naruto wove his way toward a respectable looking store and fiddled with the door handle only a few minutes before whining for help. Sasuke snorted, sliding easily off of his back to open the door for them. Upon entrance a short old man was before them offering his assistance with just the slightest stutter to his words.

"Your Lordships, anything in particular you are looking for today?" Sasuke's memories reminded him that he _did_ hold a place of some repute, but still to be addressed in such a way startled him.

This small bespectacled man with a shrew's face and three small wisps of hair combed over his shining head was treating them like nobles. The way he tripped over his words and nervously wrung his hands, honorifics dithered here and there had Sasuke searching through his memories to find out just how important they were.

"Yes, the fox needs some people clothes."

"Ah, yes, Lord Kyros, anything you desire. It's on me, really."

_Important enough not to pay for things._ Sasuke noted. _But Kyros?_ His memories told him it was the name he took when he became a fox demon. The name that the humans outside of Konoha knew him by. The dobe began slouching his way about the store, nosing through the racks of clothing. Occasionally he would huff and wheeze at Sasuke to pull something off the rack so he could inspect it further. Finally he settled on a modest blue kimono, while he nudged Sasuke towards one of a darker green color. Yip, pant, bark, huff. Backwards wheeze indicating a laugh. _Don't think you're getting away with walking around topless everywhere._ Sasuke imagined Naruto would say something like that, mostly to mock him and the days when he had a fan club following him around. Sasuke snorted, grabbing one and following the dobe to the back of the shop where the changing rooms were located. Naruto switched forms just as he was moving into the changing room, and it threw Sasuke off for a moment. It might be entirely normal for the dobe, but for someone watching it was a little more disconcerting. He gruffly handed the kimono over and took his into a separate changing room.

The funny thing about having all of the memories of each Sasuke whose life he stole was that they didn't make him feel any older. It was as if he didn't associate himself with that life at all. He viewed the experiences as though they were a filmstrip running through his head that he could pull out and watch any time he liked. But, the time they spent in each life did the opposite. They'd had a whole year in their second life. Now they'd only been here a few months, who said they only spent a year in each life? They could be in this one for decades, they could be killed on the way to Konoha or once they arrived there. How was this alliance between the foxes and the humans of Konoha set up anyways? Did it really mean anything? What did the foxes get out of it? Well, one of their Lords wasn't a criminal in the eyes of the humans anymore. That was nice. He also had to journey quite far back to his village of human origin to talk to them. It seemed like the humans were getting all of the benefits out of this arrangement.

_Really? If the dobe decided to call this thing off, what could they possibly do?_ Sasuke thought. Kyuubi was on the foxes' side. The humans couldn't fight him off last time. What says they could fight him now that he's in his element surrounded by a massive clan of other fox demons that call him their Lord? What if Naruto's a criminal in the eyes of Konoha? It didn't necessarily mean that all of the other villages or the little towns not allied to any particular ninja village would refuse him service. No one in their right mind would look a full-fledged fox demon in the eye and tell them that they wouldn't do anything for them. Especially if that fox chose to look really intimidating.

He pulled the belt snug around his waist and gathered up his shorts from the floor. Then, pushing the curtain aside, Sasuke stepped out to be met by the pained gaze of the dobe. Sasuke felt his shoulders slump a bit as he asked what was wrong. Naruto turned to the side to show Sasuke the puffed out back of his kimono due to his tail. He rolled his eyes and crouched down to gather up the hem in the back. He eyed it appreciatively. It really was a nice kimono, and amazing that they were getting it for free. He thought about tearing it from the bottom up but instead chose to go find the anxious man from whom they'd so kindly received their new clothing. He'd barely made it out of the changing rooms with his shorts in hand when the man found him.

"Would you like a bag for your shorts, Lordess?"

"Excuse me?" Sasuke blinked and turned his eyes down to meet those of the shop owner.

"Your shorts, would you like a bag for them?"

"Hm, oh, uh, sure."

Off the little man scurried, around the front counter to get a small paper bag for them to use. Sasuke took his shorts and stuffed them inside. Then he stared at this overly helpful person and tried to remember what he came out for originally.

"Can I get a pair of scissors please?"

The midget looked like he wanted to ask why Sasuke needed scissors but decided against it, "Of course."

Soon he had a nice pair of sewing sheers in his hands and he returned to the changing room. Naruto simply looked ridiculous. Not having a tail of his own, Sasuke had no idea how uncomfortable it could be to have to squish your long fluffy tail into your pants. But, by the look Naruto was giving him, it did not appear pleasant. Through a method of trial and error, they managed to get a hole in each layer of the outfit lined up with each other so that Naruto could fit his tail all the way out the back. He sighed with relief and thanked Sasuke immensely. He shrugged and led the way out of the store, dropping the borrowed scissors off with the store owner. He dithered at them that he was honored to have them visit.

"Alright, I hope it's not like that everywhere." Naruto announced bluntly.

Sasuke sighed but said nothing. There was no point in telling the dobe to not say such things when they both knew that he agreed wholeheartedly. As they ventured about the small village Sasuke noted that fewer and fewer people made eye contact with them. In fact, the crowds parted a bit as they walked making sure not to bump into them in any way. Either Naruto didn't notice this or chose not to voice it. Considering the lives he'd had, Sasuke couldn't really decide which the more likely scenario was. After dawdling a bit and generally wasting time they stopped at their 'usual' place for a quick bite to eat.

The matron, a middle aged brunette with grey streaks lining her hair, appeared to know them quite well. Again Sasuke felt odd as he had to search through the experiences of this Sasuke's life to remember her name and that he actually was quite fond of her. Mrs. Mayes, though she often insisted that he call her Ingrid. She was short and stout like a teapot, but was kinder to them and more at ease in their presence than anyone else in the village it seemed. She sat them down at their 'usual' table and went to start on their meals, which neither had yet ordered. Sasuke shook his head as he let his chin rest in one hand. The dobe was looking at a million different things in the room at once. They were seated in the small restaurant part of a local bed and breakfast run by Ingrid's husband. She was responsible for the management of the restaurant and keeping her sons working in the kitchen. The room wasn't very large so there wasn't much to look at, yet Naruto managed to find something to distract his eyes with.

"Naruto…why are we even doing this?" Sasuke asked.

"Hmm?" The dobe squinted at him as though he were crazy, "Whadya mean?"

"Why are we visiting Konoha?"

"Because it's one of the rules of the alliance-"

"What alliance?"

"Between Konoha and my clan." Naruto stated dumbly.

"But what does that mean really? I mean, think about it."

"Okay…"

"Kyuubi doesn't attack anybody, you take time away from your clan during relatively important times of the year to visit a village you're not even a part of any more, just so you're not viewed as a criminal by a bunch of humans that really couldn't do anything about it anyways?"

"The other you said that to the other me once…after the first trip to Konoha since I...I mean other me took other you to the clan's territory." Naruto chuckled as he stumbled over his words.

Sasuke paused awkwardly as he tried to remember such an occasion. As the experience came to the forefront of his mind Naruto reiterated what the other him had said those few years ago.

"We're doing this because you're still human, and you deserve a little more interaction with your kind then just the village people here." Naruto smirked, "And as righteous as your self-sacrifice is, it's still stupid."

On the inside Sasuke was smiling, really, but on the outside he was scowling at being called stupid. He gave a weak 'hn' and affixed his gaze to the scrubbed wooden table and the sundry cuts in it. After that, conversation was cut off between them and neither said anything, or at least, not to each other. Ingrid often came out to check on them while their food was cooking, bringing them tea, and water, and sometimes milk ("Drinking breast milk from the foxes might be fine while you're out in the wilderness but some good ol' fashioned cow milk is good for you and you need to drink some more often."). As soon as they'd finished eating and been 'good bye'd all the way out the door, they headed for the edge of town.

Once they'd gotten well out of view of the people Naruto abruptly cut into the woods and began stripping off his clothes. Sasuke bluntly asked him what he was doing.

"I don't want to tear apart this new kimono when I change, we'd have to go get a new one. Besides, you can just put it in the bag with your shorts."

Thinking of how much hotter it would get while they traveled, Sasuke changed back into his shorts but left the shirt on. He wasn't too fond of sunburns anyways. Once Naruto was back into his horse-sized fox form and Sasuke had changed into traveling clothes they were off. The day was long, and hot, and it seemed that the breeze had died swiftly after they'd finished lunch. Naruto tried to make small talk with him, and while Sasuke could roughly understand him, he didn't quite find small talk with a fox all that entertaining. This did bring on another topic of conversation however that was far more interesting.

"Hey dobe, do you think I could really learn how to speak fox?"

Elongated yowl, whine. _I don't know._

"Didn't you say it had something to do with your vocal chords moving different?"

Short bark. _Yeah_.

"Maybe I could talk to Tsunade-sama about making it so I have the dual vocal chords like your demon form does."

Enthusiastic yip and howl. _That would be great!_

"I know. You wouldn't have to switch as often. It might make the rest of the clan happier, me being able to talk with them."

Backward wheeze laugh, yip, pant, bark. _Probably, but you're still pet so they might not be that happy sharing their language with you._

"Well they'll get over it."

Yawn, pant, confused whine. _Why are you so determined about this?_

"We don't know how long we're going to be in this life, dobe. I'm living with a clan of foxes; I might as well try and get along with them."

Snort, pant. _Yeah, okay._

Sasuke was too lazy to try and argue with the dobe about it. So he kept his caustic replies inside and tried to fall asleep while fox-back-riding. For the most part he was successful, he was shrugged off every few hours so the dobe could take a piss in the bushes to the side of the road. He was never warned. One moment he would be warm and comfortable on top of a moving blanket, the next he would be lying on the ground grumbling in pain at having been dropped from six feet off the ground. Of course, in revenge he would yank on the dobe's ears every few hours to do just the same. It all worked out relatively well.

* * *

It took them three days to get to Konoha, as Sasuke had expected. Camping out wasn't some elaborate affair as it was with humans. Naruto went and found a deer, ripped it apart for him and Sasuke to share, and they set about fixing an easy dinner. After that they went to sleep under the clear spring sky. Naruto returned to his typical size, and Sasuke curled up on his furry ribcage. They didn't need to set up traps along the edge of their camp site. No one in their right mind would take a swing at a fox demon and his mate. So, by the time they got to Konoha Sasuke had readily slipped back into his usual living-with-foxes rhythm. The hustle and bustle of town came as a shock.

Naruto had of course changed back into his human form, and his kimono, and Sasuke changed into his presentable clothes as well. Naturally they appeared human and weren't gawked at too much in the crowds. But did everyone have to be so loud? It was bright out, and muggy from the heat of so many bodies so close to each other. Smoke rose up from the tops of buildings and people shouted and laughed and whispered and buzzed. The smaller village near home had been a lot less noisy than this. There were fewer people there. Sasuke was nudged along helpfully by Naruto who didn't appear affected at all. But when they arrived at the hokage's tower and went inside, Sasuke didn't miss the sigh of relief pass over the dobe's lips. He smirked, though inwardly he was glad he wasn't the only one to be startled by the change.

They were greeted by Shizune who asked them how their trip had been. Naruto did the talking, entertaining the woman with small talk while Sasuke gathered his wits about him. He didn't feel like talking. Mostly he felt like getting out of this place. How did Naruto stand it? As they were escorted to the hokage's office, Sasuke glanced around at various paintings on the walls, the people they passed. He was reminded of the feeling he'd had went he'd first entered the clothes store, and then the inn. It felt so strange to be inside like this. The lights on the ceiling felt too bright to him. He didn't like it.

"Naruto, Sasuke, please come in!" The godaime Hokage, Tsunade-sama called to them when they opened the door to her office.

They entered.

"How was your trip?"

"It was fine, Tsunade-sama." Naruto inclined his head politely, "Thank you for asking."

They sat down in the two chairs in front of Tsunade's desk.

"Well, how is the clan doing?"

"Quite well, Ruko should be bearing a new litter of kits soon…I believe Shii will be as well. We've expanded our territory by a few miles around the perimeter…"

Sasuke tuned out as Naruto rattled off recent developments in a business-like manner with the hokage. While he was tuning out he was silently seething. How had he not noticed that Ruko was pregnant? Didn't foxes show or something? He'd noticed that she'd been staying in the cave more, and that the other females had been visiting her often, and daring to enter the cave of their lord. It was important, he'd remembered thinking that. But he hadn't bothered to ask about it. As for Shii…he'd met her once. She was a strikingly beautiful vixen with tawny fur and amber eyes; she was a little stockier than Ruko, and a bit taller. He remembered that she'd been fairly nice to him and spoken with him easily. But as she was Kyuubi's mate he didn't really run into her that often so he definitely wouldn't have heard about her being in whelp.

"Sasuke…?"

"Hn." He turned to face Tsunade, unaware that he was now the subject of conversation.

"Naruto was just telling me about your idea on having your vocal chords adjusted?"

"Oh."

"Well, I think that we could have it arranged. Though it might take a while for me to examine Naruto's and figure out how to modify yours. I expect that we can have the surgery completed and have you back on the road home on time."

"Thank you."

"You might want to talk to Sakura about a bit of speech therapy before you leave though, something as major as altering the vocal chords could really put a shock on your body."

"Alright."

Tsunade nodded and spoke with Naruto about them heading over to the embassy to take the day to relax and that they could handle any other political matters in the morning. Sasuke offered a nod to the hokage as they parted; following Naruto swiftly out of the office. They weren't stopped by anyone on their way to the embassy. If it wasn't the fierce scowl of displeasure on Sasuke's face than it was the agitatedly twitching tail on the fox demon walking next to him that kept people from speaking with them. Sasuke hadn't even thought about their place of residence during the weeklong visit. That was the thing about memories, you don't consciously think about something your mind tells you that you already know about. The building they were met with was in the same section as the other estates used by visiting dignitaries such as the other kages. It was quite nice. It probably had three to four bedrooms, a private study, and a full household staff and sat on a few acres of private land. Sasuke noted that unlike the other estates there were quite a good many trees on the property. The house was barely visible from the front gate due to the literal forest surrounding it.

The two ANBU guards stationed at the gate opened it for them, giving them a respectful half-bow as they passed. As soon as they were a far enough distance from the front gates, and were mostly hidden from view by the lower branches of the trees Sasuke shed the outer layers of his kimono and kicked off his sandals. He ran off the path and through the trees, enjoying the dusky shade their branches offered him. He threw himself onto the ground and rolled onto his back, panting. He stared at the dappled sunshine through the leaves, sighing in content. Closing his eyes Sasuke took deep grateful breaths and ignored the dull buzz of the town that was now more than far enough away. A few minutes later a familiar wet nose was pressed against his face. His eyelids lifted wearily, allowing him to see Naruto in a much smaller fox form. He was maybe three feet high at the shoulders, a tiny big bigger than a large dog. Naruto's eyes were understanding, and somehow exhausted. The yellow furred fox that Sasuke had come to recognize so well collapsed on top of him, blanketing him in a living breathing warmth. The weight wasn't enough to make breathing difficult, but enough to keep him from moving.

"How can you do it? How can you switch back and forth and act so calm?" Sasuke asked.

Sigh, pant, bark, yowl, yip. _It's hard, I only look calm. I can barely stand it. It's just practice, is all._

Sasuke sighed. Naruto laid his large fox head on the grass next to his. Sasuke closed his eyes and leaned his cheek on the soft fox muzzle next to him. The staff inside the house was probably waiting for them, but he didn't care. Right now, for the first time, Sasuke admitted that he wanted to spend some time with his mate. Just like this. He wanted to allow their breathing to synch, their heartbeats to echo against each other in perfect rhythm. The gentle breeze underneath the canopy of maples, oaks, and apple trees ruffled his hair and the soft fur beneath his fingertips (which had subconsciously tangled in the thin summer coat on Naruto's sides). But with Naruto's heavy form on top of him he wasn't cold. He let all of these things, along with the distinct feeling that he didn't feel _human_; lull him into a sense of sweet calm.

**TBC…**


	12. Fox Den: Chapter 4

Fate's Garden

Part 2 - Fox Den

Chapter 4 - Unsaid

* * *

Sasuke shouldn't have been surprised. It had been so long since he'd seen his in-laws he was wondering if there was something wrong.

There was.

One minute Sasuke had been lying on the soft grass inside the embassy's walls, napping with his mate. The next he was standing amidst a ruckus of angry gods and their oddly subdued children. There were so many angry voices that the words melded into each other. As soon as his presence was noticed all of the gods except for Kyuubi assumed their animal forms and continued their pandemonium. The only quiet one was his father-in-law. Sasuke turned to him and opened his mouth to speak but closed it at the shushing gesture the fox god made.

Together they moved away from the obnoxious din and into the kitchen nearby. He was in the grandfather's house again, and he hadn't realized he was in the living room he was so overwhelmed by the noise.

"Hello, my son. How are you?" Kyuubi greeted kindly.

"Yes, how are you?" Sasuke glanced behind him as he was additionally welcomed by Yuuta, the rabbit god who was quickly joining them.

"I'm fine. What is going on in there?" He questioned.

"A senseless argument among my children who are so foolishly angry that they do not even notice their father escaping into the kitchen," the grandfather announced smiling calmly as he always did.

"But what are they arguing about?"

"You, I'm afraid," was the tactless reply.

"Me?" Sasuke inquired helplessly.

"Yes you."

"It would seem, my son, that your relatives are terribly upset with the circumstances of things."

Yuuta nodded in agreement with his brother, "Those circumstances revolving around your mate, Sasuke."

"What about him?"

The word mate in reference to Naruto still irked him, but no longer enough to make him violently angry. There was no use arguing with these gods.

"It has been discovered that you will follow him to the garden and become one of us," Yuuta explained.

"…what?"

A…god? One of them? He was going to…

Sasuke shook his head. He'd realized he was gaping at them and that was very unbecoming for an Uchiha.

"The tie between you two is too strong for us to sever it. Only our father could, but he insists that it's for the better if he does not."

"So they're arguing because what, I get to come to the garden and all their kids' mates didn't?"

"Precisely."

"Wouldn't the place be overrun if that were to happen anyways?"

"Perhaps, but it would have been fair," the grandfather winked, disappearing back into the living room.

"But aren't gods supposed to be all knowing and wise? And if not that, mature?" Sasuke scowled.

"Life isn't fair…" he mumbled under his breath.

Kyuubi and Yuuta chuckled at him, and Sasuke's grimace only deepened. He turned on Kyuubi accusingly.

"Oh yeah that reminds me!"

"Of what, my kit?"

"I'm never going to let you pick a life for me ever again! If I'd known you were going to turn your son into a polygamous ol' fox I would never have trusted you!"

"But you seemed to be getting along fine when you came here." Kyuubi drew a circle in the air, creating a picture within it of Sasuke and fox-Naruto taking a nap.

"But do you know how difficult it was getting used to that?"

"Yes."

Sasuke had taken a breath, prepared to tell him just how difficult it was when the fox god had retorted in the affirmative. His shoulders slumped slightly, the wind taken out of him.

"Just as Naruto didn't know of his lineage at first, neither did I. I wasn't always what I am now." The look in Kyuubi's eyes was wistful, almost mourning.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the fox, not entirely sure he was telling the truth. He opened his mouth to question him further only to be yanked roughly from the kitchen. Suddenly he was back with Naruto again. Sasuke was beginning to wonder what happened to him while he was in the garden. Kyuubi showed him a picture of him and Naruto napping. Did his body stay there and his spirit travel over?

Oh well, he could always ask them the next time he saw them. For now he was comfortable and…

"Milord! Lordess," an unfamiliar voice squawked.

Sasuke's eyes remained stubbornly screwed shut. He could get used to the fox thing, he could accept in some begrudging fashion that to everyone he was Naruto's 'mate', but he would _never_ get used to being called 'Lordess' of all things. Along the way when someone had called him that he'd stopped them and asked them what it meant.

"Ah, it's the noble title for the submissive partner in a relationship between two men!" they had called to him where he sat on Naruto's back. When the informative people had carried on their way Naruto had resumed their trek at a slightly faster pace. Much to Sasuke's surprise, the dobe had remained silent and instead of laughing, seemed particularly bashful.

"Milord." The voice squawked again, this time sounding a little out of breath.

Sasuke swore profusely when he felt Naruto roll off of him. He sat up and glared at the person who dared to disturb his peaceful nap. But he realized quite quickly that the person he had hoped to scowl at most heinously was not really a person at all. It was a rather tall and awkward looking great blue heron.

"Yes, Kane?"

Sasuke's head whirled around to see Naruto calmly kneeling on the grass, in his human form. He'd obviously abandoned his clothes somewhere else as he was naked and not making an effort to cover himself. Sasuke rolled his eyes and tried to call forth a memory of this annoying fowl only to find none. He narrowed his eyes and glared at the grass.

"Um, Lordess?"

Sasuke grumbled and lifted his gaze to meet the heron's.

"Why don't you come inside and get cleaned up, huh? Ms. Haruno is going to be coming by for dinner in an hour."

"Who invited her? I didn't." Sasuke pointedly looked to Naruto.

The dobe shook his head and smiled, "Play nice with the other kids, Sasuke."

"I don't want to."

Naruto inhaled deeply and stood. He shuffled over to Sasuke and leaned down to press a soft kiss on his tussled hair. Sasuke took the gesture in stride, knowing it would only upset the dobe and cause a completely uncessary arguement if he quesitoned it. Though later he would wonder endlessly over it.

"I'll be in the study if you _really_ need me." Naruto changed back into fox form and started towards the house. Before he got too far he glanced over his shoulder and let out a short bark in warning, _Be nice._

Then he was off, leaving Sasuke alone with the strange talking bird.

"Well," Kane twittered, "c'mon then."

* * *

"Turn the lights off." Sasuke ordered.

"But, Lordess, the cooks need them on to see the meal they're preparing."

"So? I didn't invite Sakura over; she shouldn't just invite herself like that. If she wants to eat I can always send the dobe out to get a deer or something."

"Oh, dear, there is no need for that! That's why we have cooks is so that you don't have to eat raw meat and so on."

"Who says I eat it raw? I cook it over a small fire. It tastes just fine."

Kane sighed, placing the tip of one wing on his forehead. Sasuke knew that he was probably being unnecessarily troublesome but he couldn't help it. It was so weird to be back here. Memories of the other Sasuke told him that he used to get excited over this trip. When he first came to the clan with the dobe he would stay in town all day until he had to return to the cave at night. He would run into the embassy's house and love the feeling of being indoors. But now, for him, it felt strange. When he went into the kitchen he was startled by the staff moving about preparing dinner. One of them, a petite female boar with thick brown fur and short tusks approached him. She asked him if she could get anything for him and he'd asked for some milk. Soon thereafter she'd handed him a glass and when he'd taken his first sip he nearly spat it out. As soon as the kind boar had gone back to her tasks Sasuke had subtly left the glass of milk on the counter and escaped the kitchen.

"When Sakura shows up go ahead and send her into the dining room, I'll be in the study with the dobe." Sasuke told him.

Kane nodded though he didn't look too pleased with his Lordess's behavior.

Sasuke left the lavishly furnished sitting room and hurried up the carpeted stairs. He was so antsy. Kane had absolutely forbidden him from going outside as he'd just bathed and changed into nice, clean clothes. He followed his memories to the door directly opposite the stairs and opened it. Naruto was laying in his human form on the couch writing up something, probably an official report on the clan's happenings since the last visit. The room was large, as were all of the rooms in the embassy. But it was cozier. Naruto had obviously made an effort to dehumanize it as much as possible. He'd left the books in unorganized piles around the room, left the window wide open and put rugs and blankets everywhere. The walls were painted a dark brown, and the lights were off. Sasuke sighed at the welcome change and closed the door behind him. Naruto looked up from his papers and chuckled.

"Why is the entire house staff made up of animals?" Sasuke questioned, lying down on the floor.

"They're demons, just like me. But they remain in a somewhat warped version of their animal forms. They have mostly human hands so they can perform the household tasks and everything else animal so they can remain mostly comfortable."

"And Kane?"

"He's the housekeeper."

"I don't like him."

Naruto smirked, "Because he won't let you go outside?"

"Because he won't tell Sakura not to come over!"

"She isn't that bad."

"I want to go home." Sasuke grumbled.

When he didn't get a response Sasuke turned his head so he could see his mate. Naruto was staring at him in earnest surprise.

"Really?"

"Even though I don't like them…I guess I've gotten used to living with those stupid foxes. This doesn't feel like home anymore."

Naruto sighed, "Sasuke, even if you don't like it, you can't just turn your back on your kind…"

"You mean like you did?"

"That wasn't me! That was the other Naruto, alright?"

Sasuke tried to work up a retort to that but couldn't find one so he remained silent.

"Would you have given up on me?"

Naruto froze, his face turning green like he was going to be sick.

"Would you have?"

Still no answer. "If I hadn't killed you," Sasuke felt his throat swell up; refusing to let any more words come out. That was the first time he'd mentioned it.

Naruto snorted, "I let you kill me, Sasuke. That _was_ me giving up."

"You…" His chest clenched and his stomach filled up with ice, "you let me kill you? Why?"

"It's not like you cared! You killed me on a whim, remember?"

"I-I…"

"You were never going to care, Sasuke, you never did and you never were going to. I'd wasted years of my life chasing after a stupid dream that didn't mean anything!" His voice was wet with tears that had yet to reach his eyes. His face was red and pinched up at the effort to not cry.

Sasuke wanted to look away, he wanted to get up and run. But he was rooted to the spot; he couldn't rip his gaze off of the contorted face of his rival, his best friend, his mate. Sasuke couldn't have just let it go. He had to ask and now the dam had broken.

"What was I going to do if I went back to Konoha without you and tried to move on? Do you think I could have gone and tried to pass the chuunin exams? If I tried to move on everyone would have hated it me for it. Kakashi wouldn't speak to me, Sakura would hate me. If I didn't just keep playing the fool for everyone they wouldn't know what to do with themselves!"

"The best thing I could do is just die and let you carry on your stupid vengeful way in peace."

Sasuke was at a complete loss. It appeared that this was the worst moment for him to lose his voice as Naruto snorted in a knowing sort of way. He then changed into his fox form, tearing carelessly through his kimono and hopped out of the open window. Sasuke found himself moving to the window to make sure the dobe hadn't hurt himself. All he could see was a blur of yellow moving over the embassy wall and disappearing from sight.

"Lordess!"

Sasuke heard the squawk of his housekeeper but couldn't bring himself to answer him, his eyes locked onto the wall Naruto had vaulted over moments ago.

"Lordess!"

A few minutes later the door to the study opened and a weary heron announced, "_Lordess_, your guest is here. As you instructed I have sent her to the dining room. If you would…?"

Sasuke ripped his gaze away from the window as fast as he could, like he was peeling off a band-aid. He nodded to Kane and without a word exited the room. He hadn't wanted to see Sakura let alone talk to her. But now, now he felt that if he was left alone he might drown in the silence and the memory of Naruto's words. If just for a while, he needed to hear Sakura babble on about nothing at all. When he sat down at the dining table and faced her she noticed how shaken he was, yet she didn't comment on it. Instead she chattered. Her words washed over him in a comforting wave. Throughout dinner, Sasuke felt as though he were asleep with his eyes open. He didn't want to wake up.

**TBC…**


	13. Fox Den: Chapter 5

**Fate's Garden**

Part 2 - Fox Den

Chapter 5 - Why?

* * *

Naruto ran. He ran and ran and ran. His large paws carried him all the way to the edges of Konoha and past them till he reached the greater depths of the forest surrounding the village. His fox mind was making his grief jumbled. He panted and wheezed and whined. Whimpers grew in his throat until he yowled. He trotted about the area, sometimes quickening to a run and then slowing down to a sluggish lumber. It was as if he couldn't stop moving. The sounds emanating from deep within him never ceased either. His fox brain was telling him that he had lost something, and since these feelings of sadness were caused by his mate his brain said that he had lost his mate. He had lost his mate? No! Instinctively his paws scratched at the ground, his back paws kicking up dirt to bury a deceased mate that was not there. He couldn't stop. Eventually as he moved away from the 'burial site' there was a small ditch and next to it a pile of unearthed soil.

This form was comforting for him, but at the same time it over simplified his anguish. It was as if his fox mind was taking the problem away and hiding it somewhere. He had to find it. He resumed his trotting, kicking up dirt as he went, while crying and yowling. When there was a gap in the fox mind's control he forced himself to shift forms. He lay bare upon the forest floor, his human mind regaining control of his thoughts.

He'd thought that they'd somehow gotten over that. Naruto had no idea now how he could have thought that. They weren't past it, they'd merely ignored it. They'd acted like it was old times, back when Team 7 first started. They'd pretended that Sasuke hadn't run away, that he hadn't killed him and they pretended everything was fine. Everything was not fine. All this time he'd held it in, his real feelings about his death. When he'd finally admitted it all, Sasuke hadn't said a word. He might as well have gotten up and left the room, for all he cared. Naruto could see it on his face, he didn't care. He was probably laughing at him by now. Why did things have to be this way? Why couldn't he have just died for real? Why did he have to be stuck with Sasuke still in some world where he had no real comforts? No refuge to run to, so he could escape from the constant torment of his life.

"Milord," a tentative voice called.

Naruto sighed witheringly, "Yes, Kane?"

"I don't mind if you stay out here, I know you and the Lordess had a fight, but don't forget you have meetings in the morning at ten."

"No, it's alright Kane. I'll come back with you."

"Are you sure, milord?"

"I'm sure."

Naruto shifted into his fox form and stood to face his housekeeper. He liked Kane, his memories told him that other Naruto did too, and always had. He was respectful, intuitive, and above all: organized. If it weren't for Kane, Naruto wouldn't be able to remember anything while he was in the human world. He offered a meek smile to the heron before loping out of the forest and back to the house.

* * *

Sasuke was just finally getting Sakura out the door when he heard the dobe climb in through the study window upstairs. He'd been thinking about what Naruto had said. Eventually the feeling of numbness had worn off. He'd woken from his 'sleep' and taken a step back from the situation. If they were back in their real life how would he react to the dobe's sermon of surrender and anguish? If he knew Naruto was serious, which he was, Sasuke knew this now because he'd actually died. What would he have thought? He decided that he would most likely be angry first. Naruto didn't get it.

When he'd 'run away' as it were, he did not do so to become some terrible villain of the utmost evil. Sasuke, for the most part considered himself neither good, nor bad. All he saw was power, and he wanted it so that he could achieve his goal. He could admit to himself now that he went a little tunnel-vision. He hadn't seen the broader picture at the time. The truth of it was that he didn't really hate his genin-team, he couldn't say he loved them, or liked them. But he _was_ attached to them; in an immensely annoying, frustrating way…he was tied to them. He supposed that somewhere down the line if he truly had reached his goal and killed Itachi he might have been willing to return home, if they would have accepted him back. He hadn't thought about what he would do after killing his brother. Well, he knew that he wanted to restore his clan, but he hadn't thought so much about his second goal as his first. When he really looked back on it, his planning had been absolute shit.

But Naruto hadn't seen it as a mean to an end. He'd seen it as a betrayal and abandonment. Sasuke knew that his mind definitely functioned differently from Naruto's. It was something he was proud of, most of the time. During their battle at the valley of the end Naruto and he talked almost as much as they fought. A lot had been said that if Sasuke had a second chance he might have changed slightly or not said at all. Most of the things he told Naruto that day were to get him to go away, to give up, and to stop pestering him and let him continue on towards his goal. He hadn't wanted to kill him or really hurt him that much; he just wanted to be left alone. But Naruto wouldn't leave him alone. Naruto wanted to break his legs and take him home because they were brothers, and rivals, and the best of friends. Sasuke had to disagree.

They _weren't_ best friends. At least, not in Sasuke's point of view. There was no word for what they were. Sasuke knew that Naruto was important to him, he knew that. Naruto was Naruto was Naruto. He was what he was, and he would always be there. That's what Sasuke knew; it's what he accepted, and what he really believed. It was _this_ concept that he'd thought on so heavily while Sakura babbled incessantly during dinner. Sasuke realized now that somewhere in his head while he'd been off on his mission to gain enough power to kill his brother had been Naruto. He'd not actively thought about the dobe but he'd been there. He'd thought that he would be there when he'd achieved his goal; that he could come home and there he would be. But Naruto didn't just stay home and wait, he followed him. He chased after him until finally he found him. Then Sasuke killed him, or, as the dobe had corrected him, Naruto _let_ Sasuke kill him.

For some reason Sasuke hadn't thought that it would hurt Naruto that much, to leave and pursue his life's ambition. He'd overestimated Naruto's understanding. Sasuke knew that Naruto was his…something, his something important. He knew that Naruto knew this too, and that he would be okay. But…whereas Sasuke said whatever he wanted and didn't take it too seriously, Naruto heard every word and saw it as something important and meaningful. When Sasuke said anything he could come up with to make Naruto go back to Konoha and wait for him there, Naruto took it as Sasuke betraying him and running away to get away from him. But that wasn't it at all!

Sasuke sighed and bade Kane goodnight. The heron nodded and eyed him wearily as he climbed the stairs. Sasuke had to talk to Naruto and make him understand. They were going to be together for all of eternity weren't they? They might as well get along, and understand each other. Sasuke shuffled down the hallway and opened the door to the bedroom he shared with Naruto. The dobe had changed into his pajamas already and was lying motionless in their bed.

"Naruto-"

"Save it Sasuke. I'm fine. You don't have to-"

"Save your self-pity for later and listen to me Naruto." The dobe sat up straight and glared at him but otherwise said nothing.

Sasuke breathed deeply, preparing himself for a long conversation, "I thought about what you said, yes I heard you, and no, I wasn't agreeing with you when you just got up and leapt out the window. I just didn't know what to say."

"Believe it or not I didn't leave Konoha just to hurt you, and I wasn't betraying you or anything else remotely tragic."

Naruto was still tense, defensive, and he snorted at Sasuke's words as if he was lying to try and trick him. Sasuke was really getting annoyed with him so finally he just snapped.

"Quit it, alright? Will you just let me finish? Or are you honestly so certain that I don't mean any of this?"

"How can I know you mean any of it, Sasuke? Really?"

"You trusted me once, try and remember how." He bit out.

Naruto settled himself against the headboard, arms crossed over his chest. He waited.

"I left because I had a goal to reach. It wasn't for anything other than that. I wanted to be stronger so that I could, that's it. When you followed me, I saw it as you getting in the way of that. So I did everything and _said_ everything I could to get you to leave me alone."

"You didn't mean any of that? The whole cutting your ties thing? All of it?" The disbelief in Naruto's voice was overwhelming. It reminded Sasuke just how much Naruto listened to what he said.

"No."

"Listen…I know that you think I hated you or just didn't care or something equally as pessimistic. But that's not true. It's not that I cared…it's different. You're…you're important to me." Sasuke stumbled over his words and scowled. Why did this have to be so difficult to explain?

"So why did you keep up the whole apathetic act huh? At every turn…"

"You kept following me!" Sasuke snapped, "I was trying to get you to just go home and wait for me!"

Naruto's eyes widened and Sasuke froze. There it was. The truth was out. Sasuke stared at the wood floor in humiliation. This whole thing was idiotic. Well, it was the dobe he was doing this for. It shouldn't be surprising that it was stupid. He didn't know why he had to say all of this. Naruto was so hung up on what he said and did, he couldn't just accept that maybe Sasuke wasn't out to get him. He couldn't possibly think that Sasuke would come home after he had accomplished what he'd set out to do.

"Sasuke, why did you have to leave to get stronger? Why couldn't you have just stayed?" Naruto's voice had a note of pleading to it, like he was begging him, "I would have helped you."

"I didn't want your help. I needed to do it on my own. _I_ wanted to avenge_ my_ clan."

"Sasuke…"

"Why couldn't you have just waited? Why did you have to come after me? I was going to come home for you! I was going to have to leave eventually to find him so I could kill him. I left so I could get stronger faster and get it over with. The sooner I left and grew stronger the less time you would have to wait. But no, you just had to follow me, and stop me and make it take longer. It was always about you, always!" Sasuke had no idea where this was coming from. He'd started to pace. His face was wet with tears he hadn't even noticed he'd shed. His jaw hurt from clenching and every part of him was tense.

"_You_ wanted this, _you_ wanted that. _You_ wanted me to stay with you, and I was going to! I was doing everything I could to do what I had to do in the shortest amount of time to satisfy _you_!"

"Sasuke-!"

"But that wasn't good enough! You had to follow me; you had to be with me and help me and make it all better! I didn't need you to make it all better, I had everything under control! I was fine!"

The tension in him was building and building. He paced faster back and forth in front of the bed. The tears were coming more and more and he couldn't see anything anymore. He wasn't even forming coherent words; he was just screaming and sobbing. Naruto was calling to him, Sasuke could see him getting out of the bed and moving towards him.

When he was right in front of him Sasuke saw his arms reaching out to hold him. Sasuke wrenched back a fist and rammed it into Naruto's jaw, sending him reeling backwards.

"Why did you die?!" He yelled. He couldn't stop saying it. "Why did you die?! Why did you die?! Why did you _die?!_"

Naruto recovered from the punch quickly and enveloped him in his arms. He repeated the question over and over until he was hoarse. When he'd finally exhausted himself he collapsed against Naruto, who picked him up and carried him to bed.

* * *

Sasuke woke to an empty room and the most overwhelming exhaustion he'd ever felt. The sun was pouring in through the window, and the clock on the bedside table told him it was nearly noon. The pitter patter of feet told him the staff had long since awoken and started their daily chores. He slipped out of bed and shuffled over to the door. His hand was resting on the doorknob and he wondered if it would be worth it to go downstairs and get an apple. He was sorely tempted to follow Naruto's example from last night and just leap out the window.

Last night…Sasuke shut his eyes tight and flinched at the memory. So much of what he'd said he hadn't known he'd felt. The words just kept coming and he didn't know how to stop them, and he was surprised when he realized that he didn't want to.

Shaking his head Sasuke opened the door and looked back and forth down the hall. The coast was clear. He hurried down the hallway and down the stairs. He made it all the way to the door to the kitchen without being noticed. But one look in the kitchen told him his mission was a bust. The room was full to bursting with the cooks. If he went in there they'd all try to make him breakfast. He didn't really want a big extravagant deal, he just wanted an apple, some fox milk, and maybe a fresh rabbit cooked over a fire. The chance of him getting that from the cooks was slim to none. He inwardly groaned and headed for the front door.

He was intercepted by Kane who delightfully told him that he was supposed to get ready and go to the hospital so that Tsunade could examine his vocal chords. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the heron, not remembering when this had been arranged. He grimaced as his memories told him that he'd gotten Tsunade to agree to alter his vocal chords so they matched Naruto's demon form's. So he could talk both fox and human. Sasuke nodded and went upstairs to get ready.

* * *

The rest of the week went by in a blur. The actual surgery on his throat to change his vocal chords happened on their third day in Konoha. Tsunade said that she had enough information and that they needed the most recovery time in the village that they could get. That way they could know for sure things had gone right in the surgery. When he'd first tried speaking fox with Naruto it had been strange. Like he'd thought it wasn't just another language it was an entirely different way of speaking, of moving your mouth and forming sounds. He knew that it would be hard that eventually it would be second nature like it was for Naruto. But at the moment, consciously having to switch between sets of vocal chords felt strange and was very difficult.

And then, aside from all the political mess and interacting with the villagers, Sasuke had to deal with the awkward tension between him and the dobe. Sasuke was ready to go back to normal, he wanted to. But it seemed like his meltdown had shaken Naruto more than Naruto's had Sasuke. It was bothersome because when Naruto felt awkward, he unconsciously made sure everyone around him did too, so that he wasn't alone. While they were in the village it was mostly tolerable because they could distract themselves from each other. They had other things to do. But the date for their return trip home was rapidly approaching. Sasuke wasn't looking forward to three days alone with an awkward dobe.

**TBC…**


	14. Fox Den: Chapter 6

**AN:** Kind of important. So, for all of you who absolutely despise this life of theirs despite its rather extreme relevance to the storyline, no need to fear it is almost over. Only two chapters left, I swear to you. Maybe three, depending on how it turns out.

Also, some of you more nit-picky folks will notice the format of the fox-speak changes about halfway through the chapter. Instead of sounds and then italics, it is all in quotes. This is for the purposes of easier formatting and because since Sasuke can speak fox too I figure to have it all in quotes makes sense. :P ENJOY.

* * *

********

Fate's Garden

Part 2 - Fox Den

Chapter 6 - Milk

* * *

Naruto was avoiding Sasuke like the plague. He really shouldn't be. Everything was fine; he was making a huge deal out of nothing. After Sasuke's meltdown of the century, Naruto had at first felt euphoric. Then he felt bad for being so happy that his mate had experienced so much emotional distress. He was important. That was all Naruto had been able to think. When he just accepted Sasuke's words for what they were, everything did make a lot more sense. In fact, it felt great to believe everything Sasuke had said, that Naruto was important, and that he'd planned on coming home and so on and so forth. But at the same time, that was the problem: it felt _too_ great.

Even though it hurt a lot to admit to something like Sasuke not caring about him at all, it was safer. Naruto had finally reached the point where he was okay with Sasuke not caring, and he trusted him the perfect amount and only for certain things. If they were attacked, Naruto knew he could trust Sasuke to help him fight off the danger and to protect him like he would protect Sasuke. If Naruto asked Sasuke to go get something from the market, he could trust that Sasuke would do it. But those differed immensely from Naruto's faith in Sasuke's words about their relationship, whatever it may be. If Sasuke said that he cared about Naruto, or that he didn't mean everything he'd said since he'd left Konoha, that was something that Naruto had taught himself not to trust. Now however, Sasuke was saying, 'its okay, I never meant to rip your heart out and stomp on it a whole bunch. You've been important to me all along! Pssht, you're _crazy_!'

Naruto knew it was reasonable to be weary of Sasuke, and he was completely in the right for not believing him at all. Sasuke was a good actor; he was a _really_ good actor. He knew what to say and how to say it to manipulate whoever he wanted. Naruto, while a fair player on the stage was never great. He could only wear a fake smile for so long, and his manipulation was never up-to-par. Sasuke knew that most likely in order to keep Naruto happy, he had to stage a rather elaborate, humbling act to compensate for his less than stellar performance earlier. The act had been rather believable too. Naruto knew that Sasuke now expected him to relax and be more than happy with him. But Naruto could only act genuinely happy if he was, if he tried to fake his way through it his weariness would be blindingly obvious. He had to find something to be happy about that was un-Sasuke-related. It was the only way for him to get through this, or he'd go crazy.

Seeing as he had _yet_ to discover this thing to be happy about, he was still avoiding Sasuke. But they were leaving for home _tomorrow_. Then they would be in close proximity for three days straight and there would be no escaping each other. So at this moment he was trying to find something to be happy about. He'd visited Kakashi-sensei, he'd visited Jiraiya, he'd visited Lee (that had certainly been fun), and he'd had lunch with Sakura (that had mostly been comforting rather than fun). None of it had made him truly happy. Now he was locked away in his study thinking about what he had to look forward to. _Three days with the source of all of my suffering._ No, he couldn't think like that. Happy! That's what he needed.

"Who am I kidding, huh?" He sighed.

"Not me." Sasuke replied.

Naruto's head jerked around on his neck, his eyes glued to the door where Sasuke stood. He was tense, he couldn't be defensive. He had to be _happy_. _Think of something, think of something, think of something quick or he'll call you out…_

"Hey teme, bored?" He started, letting a relaxed grin light up his face.

"Of course, there's nothing to do here."

"Remind you of home?"

Sasuke snorted. Naruto laughed. It was Sasuke's number one complaint when they were home. He had nothing really to do but wander about and speak with a clan that didn't really like him too much.

"Do you wanna try practicing speaking fox with me?"

Sasuke nodded.

Huff, yip. _Okay, go!_

Pant, bark, elongated yowl. _Do you think I have an accent?_

Wheezing laugh, snort, yip. _Definitely!_

Long wheeze, snort. _Great._

Low hum, whine, loud bark. _Don't worry, you'll get better._

"Hn." Sasuke gave up, collapsing on the floor of the study. "It feels so weird."

"I don't doubt it."

Naruto resumed his absent staring out the window, forcing himself to relax as much as possible. But it was just so hard. His last minute happy thought had been a life where Sasuke had never left, and he was only a little bit of an apathetic bastard, and Naruto could be sure he would never leave and that he wasn't lying when he said he cared. It was one of Naruto's most joyful, bittersweet dreams he'd ever had. In the later years of his first life whenever the thought of them would enter his conscious stream of thought he would scoff and push it back into the dregs of his subconscious. He had no time for idle fantasies, he had work to do. Now the overwhelming happiness at the thought of such a life was coming into conflict with the cold reality that it would never happen. His chest was clenching with the effort to withhold tears, and so he took deep breaths to try and calm himself down.

This form was too complicated. He needed simple. Naruto began divesting himself of all of his clothing, tossing one article here, and another there. Once he was completely bare he shifted. Much better. Naruto turned to face his mate and smiled. Happily he slid off of the couch and flopped down on the floor behind him.

Yowl, wheeze. _What are you up to dobe?_

Yip, whine. _Grooming you, sit up._

Bark. _No._

Naruto quickly reached down and hooked his teeth in the collar of Sasuke's kimono and yanked him into a sitting position. Sasuke barked something at him, but Naruto ignored him. He was going to be groomed whether he liked it or not. Naruto slipped his paws around Sasuke's waist and pulled him closer so that he could begin combing through his hair. His unsettled mate let out frustrated yowls and snarls every few minutes for a while. But after an hour or so, he calmed down. Naruto noted, in the back of his human mind, that Sasuke's fox speak was improving greatly.

A while or so later Naruto pulled a near boneless Sasuke up against his chest, laying his head over the teme's shoulder.

Bark. _Mate?_

Huff, _Yes?_

Sigh, wheeze, yip. _I am happy._

* * *

The trip home, it turned out, wasn't nearly as bad as Sasuke thought it would be. He forgot that he would be riding fox-back home. When Naruto was in fox form he didn't have the capacity for awkwardness. It was one of the more complicated human emotions that foxes had the luxury of not feeling. The entire way home Naruto seemed to insist on remaining in his fox form. Even when they passed through towns he would wait outside for Sasuke or go hunt for food. This didn't really bother Sasuke too much. He could still speak with him due to his steadily improving fox-speak, and the dobe seemed to be happier that way.

Finally, after three long days of traveling they were home. Sasuke sighed, a soft smile appearing unbidden upon his face. They passed the border surrounding their territory and Sasuke could feel the difference. It felt more peaceful, quieter in this part of the forest. Sasuke would've never thought he'd call the clan's forest home, nor would he have guessed that he would miss it so much.

There was no formal welcome back sort of thing from the foxes. But every fox they encountered bowed respectfully towards them and would lick Naruto's snout. Some of them even licked Sasuke, and due to their size it almost knocked him over. Though he never heard any of the foxes speak he could feel it rising up from the earth around them, everyone was happy to see their Lord and his pet return. All the way back to the cave, Sasuke could feel Naruto grow more and more anxious. Maybe the foxes had spoken and he had missed it. But he'd been listening intently, waiting for his chance to use his newly altered vocal chords to speak with them. He didn't know how he could have missed it, unless all of this was just Naruto's animal instinct that Sasuke couldn't account for. That must've been it.

By the time they were only a few minutes from the cave, Naruto couldn't contain himself and he loped on ahead. Sasuke knew somehow that it wasn't an emergency, that it was a happy thing so he contented himself with walking the rest of the way. When he got there he saw what was causing Naruto's excitement.

Ruko was lying down in the cave on her side, three kits at her belly suckling. They were obviously newborns, probably only a few days old. But seeing the size of their parents, it wasn't surprising that lying down they came up to Sasuke's waist. It was odd knowing that these were Naruto's…children. It was even worse knowing that he'd already had many others and that they were already considered grownups in this society. It just made the dobe sound so…old.

Wheeze, sigh, yip. _Congratulations, Ruko. Your kits are beautiful._

Ruko turned from her mate's affectionate nuzzling to stare wide eyed at the family pet.

"You speak fox, how?"

"I had my vocal chords altered by another human during our visit."

"Why?"

"I think it's pretty disrespectful for me to not try to communicate in your language when I'm living on your lands, don't you?"

"You flatter me, pet." Ruko chuckled in the wheezing way foxes laughed.

Sasuke inclined his head and replied, "Can I get you dinner, perhaps?"

"Do not take too long, pet." Ruko teased.

Sasuke nodded and headed for the mouth of the cave. He didn't get much farther than that however. Naruto surged past him and blocked the gaping maw with his bulk. He snarled and growled at Sasuke in a way he never had before in his fox form. Sasuke shuffled backwards into the cave, accidentally tripping over a rock onto his rear.

"You are my mate as well, don't forget your place and start acting like my vixen is your bitch to hunt for. Stay in the cave where you belong." Naruto punctuated his sentences with clacking of his fangs and before he sped off he snarled at Sasuke one last time.

Sasuke sat there, stunned. Naruto had never acted that way towards him before. He hadn't even realized what he'd done with Ruko just then was an insult in fox society. By being a little too respectful towards Ruko and offering to find food for her he'd suggested that her mate was incapable. During such a time as the first few days after the birth of a litter this was especially rude. Sasuke sighed and did as he'd been ordered and stayed in the cave. Ruko snorted at his sulking.

"What did you expect, pet? A warm thank you?"

"I just wasn't thinking about it that way. I thought I was doing a nice thing."

"I know enough about you foolish humans to understand that. I'm sure in hind sight my mate will understand too. Do not worry much."

"He hasn't treated me like this before." Sasuke muttered.

Either Ruko didn't hear him, or she chose to ignore him. Sasuke guessed it was the latter, considering her enhanced hearing and all. He sighed, resting against the cave wall, waiting for his 'mate' to come home.

* * *

The next day, Sasuke awoke for once not on Naruto's back. It was a strange feeling. He stretched and stood up, preparing to head out and handle his usual morning necessities. On his way out he paused and let his eyes rest on the newborn kits. They were like little lumps of fur about three feet tall and six feet long. Sasuke rolled his eyes before heading out.

The grass was soft on his feet as he followed the well beaten path to the stream he bathed in each morning. The air was warm in the highlands during springtime, but it was also humid. It felt like he was walking around underneath a thick blanket he couldn't take off. Mist hung in the air around him and by the time he reached the river he was anxious to get in the water. He shrugged off his shorts and kicked them to the side before smoothly slipping off the bank into the cool stream. He dipped under to get his hair wet and to find a clean rock to scrub his skin with. When he resurfaced there was a very naked dobe standing at the edge of the river giving him that guilty look of his.

Sasuke glared and childishly splashed him with water. Naruto pouted and joined him in the river, deciding that working on Sasuke's hair for him was a suitable way of kissing up. Sasuke pushed him away and continued washing himself. When the dobe reached for him again he glared and smacked his hand away. Naruto sighed and cleared his throat.

"The vixens should be bringing in breakfast soon near the usual spot…don't take too long washing up." Naruto swam easily over to the shore and climbed out. He resumed his fox form and ran off, disappearing amidst the trees.

Sasuke thought of going into town to avoid the dobe as a sort of revenge but decided against it. He wouldn't enjoy himself so really he'd be punishing himself instead of the dobe. The goal here was to make Naruto feel bad, not himself. As he was getting out and drying off he decided that maybe he shouldn't be extremely vindictive in this case. After all, the dobe had tried to make amends in his usual clingy, overly affectionate way. He pulled on his shorts and made his way to breakfast.

Over the next few weeks Sasuke and Naruto returned to normal. Sasuke lazed about, sometimes interacting with the other foxes, did his laundry and so on. Naruto handled whatever business as lord the clan entailed and they usually saw each other only at meal times and at bedtime. Sasuke did not make the mistake of offering to help Ruko with the kits, he knew that he'd most likely be growled and snarled at for weeks if he did. They weren't yet big enough to leave the cave but they had opened their eyes and started wiggling around. Sasuke had sat off to the side and listened in while Naruto and Ruko had picked out names for them. The variety in coat colors in the litter was interesting. They were all girls, and one was grey while neither parent was, her name was Yurei. There was one kit that was yellow paler and yet brighter than Naruto, and she was named Ru. Their sister was a deep fuchsia like her mother Ruko, and her name was Lena. Yurei was the quiet one, content to take long naps at her mother's side and not take part in any playing too much. Ru was by far the feistiest and her sister Lena while not nearly as unruly, was antsy enough to wrestle with her.

With the kits around, Sasuke felt more out of place than usual. What was he? The pet. The kits would try to play with him sometimes, pawing at him with their nubbly little feet. But other than that he was just there. He sat against the wall of the cave acting as the spectator to Naruto's happy family life. He knew there was love there, in its own fox-ish way. But it wasn't like human love. Those kits would be punted out to fend for themselves and literally chased off by the time they were around one year old. These kits had it easier, they were girls, so that meant they could stay on and act as hunters for their mother and be well protected. But if they did stay they would never be allowed to mate and have children of their own. Naruto knew his children, he would recognize them if he saw them, but he didn't really have any significant relationship with them. Especially since he was the father he didn't interact with them much. Typically it was the mother's job to raise the kits, and to take them hunting to prepare them for life outside of the clan in case they later chose to leave.

More and more time passed, and the kits were getting bigger and even learning to talk. With their arrival, he was becoming quite used to sleeping on the opposite side of the cave from the cozy little fox family. He was really starting to hate it. So one day, Sasuke being the impatient vengeful bastard that he was started scheming up a way to work himself back into the family unit.

Sasuke told himself that he was doing this because he thought it was what Naruto really wanted. Later he would figure that it was really his own selfish way of trying to be included in the family more. But that didn't matter. That day when Sasuke woke up on his side of the cave (as he was starting loathe doing) the kits were jittery and bouncing around already. They'd come over and licked him all over and batted at him with their paws.

"Pet! Pet! Wake up!" They yipped.

"I'm up, I'm up." He barked, standing up and heading for the mouth of the cave.

"We're going on our first hunt with mama today!"

"Yippee." He twirled one finger around in the air, "Now go back to your mom I'm going to go wash up before breakfast."

"Are you going to come with us?"

Sasuke paused and turned around to eye them in confusion, "Come with you on the hunt?"

"Yeah!" Ru barked enthusiastically, wagging her tail with her but up in the air.

"Momma said you could." Lena piped in.

"Really? I'll have to hear that from her to believe it."

Ruko barked in the affirmative from where she was just then waking up and stretching. "They wouldn't stop yammering about it, pet. I don't see what harm it could do."

"Alright, I'll tag along."

"Yay!" Ru and Lena pranced around him, yipping and whining and barking their delight. At four months old they were already as tall as him, yet they acted like he was the bigger one.

"When are you going on this hunt of yours?"

"Later this afternoon, we'll be the ones providing dinner tonight."

"Alright then, I can go wash up."

"Yes."

So Sasuke left the cave, shuffling off in the direction of his 'bathing river' as he'd often dubbed it in his head. When he was about half-way there he noticed the dobe following him. He rolled his eyes and glanced over his shoulder. Naruto wheezed a nervous fox laugh before shifting forms and jogging to catch up to him. He slung a casual arm around Sasuke's shoulders and offered a feeble good morning.

"Good morning, dobe."

"Hey teme," Naruto started.

"Yes?"

"Thanks for agreeing to go with them, I know it'll be weird but they were really making a fuss over it earlier. I don't know how you slept through it."

"I don't know either."

"You know they really seem to like you."

Sasuke shrugged Naruto's arm off of his shoulders when they reached the river. He dropped his shorts and slid down into the stream while turning to shoot a look at Naruto. But otherwise he said nothing. There was nothing really for him to say to that statement. He thought about his scheme, as it were, and as he worked on combing out the knots in his wet hair he broke the silence.

"You know dobe, one might think they were closer to me than they are to their own father." He smirked just to add to the jab.

"They do see you more, and as their father, in fox society it's not that unusual for them not to be close to me." Naruto shrugged.

Sasuke scowled inwardly. Naruto hadn't taken to the bait as he'd hoped so now he had to find another way to make his case. Even as the words begin to leave his mouth he felt the tiniest bit bad about it. It was pretty low of him to use this excuse…but Sasuke didn't have a conscience, for the most part, so all was well.

"But you're not really a fox, remember? Don't you remember that we don't know how long we're going to be here?"

Naruto tensed at that thought and then slumped a little. "Yeah…"

"So wouldn't you like to get to know your kids better before you suddenly die off and get shipped to another life?"

Naruto pressed a thumb to his bottom lip and nodded weakly. Sasuke felt the beginnings of triumph swell up in his chest like a balloon. He finished scrubbing himself free of dirt and climbed out of the river to dry himself off as best he could. This involved a potentially gratuitous amount of shaking and wiping his feet off on the grass. Then he pulled his shorts back on and started padding off in the direction of breakfast, the dobe having resumed his fox form and trailing pensively behind him.

Breakfast with the clan was always an interesting ordeal. The vixens woke up earlier than everyone else and went to find food. Then they piled their kills up in the usual feeding area for various clan members to partake. Due to the social hierarchy, certain members of the clan went to eat first. Kyuubi went first because of the co-ruling lords he was older and therefore had seniority. Then his mate, Shii, and then their most recent kits that had been born only a week after Ruko's. After that was Naruto, and then Ruko, then their kits, and then Sasuke. Once Sasuke had ripped off a piece of meat for himself to go cook there was a slightly more complex eating order. The vixens that Naruto and Kyuubi shared for casual sex would eat. Then the head vixen under the mates of the lords, and then the remaining males that had stayed on to serve the higher ranking clan members.

As usual Sasuke waited in line for his turn to pick out his breakfast. All around him he could hear the noisy chattering and gossiping between the vixens and the males. Most of them were talking about the newest kits' training hunt this afternoon. It was a big deal because it was to be their very first hunt, and in almost any animal society it was an important affair. After Yurei had bitten off her serving of deer Sasuke moved forward to take his piece. He took hold of one deer leg and forced a bit of chakra into his arms to buffer them from the force it would take to rip it off of the animal. Once he'd gotten it he relaxed and slung it over his shoulder.

Sasuke meandered over to Ruko who was lounging under one of the oak trees eating her breakfast with her family. He politely asked of her if he could have some milk, at which the kits giggled. As usual Ruko obliged him kindly. Sasuke was very conscious of just how bizarre the concept was, and he knew that he probably deserved to be giggled at but it certainly didn't make him feel better. Besides, before the stupid little runts were born he didn't have to deal with their antics. Choosing to eat away from them and their teasing laughter, after he'd taken a second swig of milk he wandered away from the feeding area to cook his breakfast and eat alone.

**TBC...**


	15. Fox Den: Chapter 7

**Fate's Garden**

Part 2 - Fox Den

Chapter 7 - Plans

* * *

Sasuke was carefully perched in a tree nearby, watching the exuberant kits sneak up on their prey. At the moment it was Yurei's turn. She was rather meek and reserved when she was around her siblings, or really anyone. Sasuke had a feeling though that there was more to the dusky vixen then met the eyes of those around her. She reduced her size to that of wolf and skulked through the shadows. Her eyes were riveted to the deer a few feet away from her. One paw slipped in some soft soil and rustled the grass at her feet. The deer looked up and saw her, post haste it sprinted off. Yurei followed dutifully, loping along behind.

Sasuke, the other kits and Ruko followed her as subtly as they could. They were not to help her, as this was her hunt. At first, when Sasuke realized that they would be getting the usual dinner, deer, he nearly laughed. Usually when the vixens went 'hunting' they would trot up behind their prey and snatch up the bite sized creature and bite down enough to kill it. It was laughable, the concept of a giant fox demon going 'hunting' as some sort of test when they could outpace their food at a brisk walk, and they could fit their target in their mouth whole quite easily. But when Ruko explained the rite of passage to him he understood. As they were Naruto's children, the ability to change their appearance was more privy to their control than to the other fox demons. They would change size and catch their food like a normal fox might. Now, he was watching.

Ru and Lena had already gone. They'd both done splendidly. Of course Ru had been a tad more vicious than was necessary but that was Ru. She was the outspoken one of the three and she was just trying to impress her mother, her sisters, and the pet. Sasuke had been startled when Ruko had suggested the idea to him, of the three kits having what could be described as an odd infatuation with him. He waved it off as them being young and curious and that they had nothing better to do with their time than swoon over the family pet. It was definitely strange. But none of them had actively tried to do anything other than compete for his attention and try to impress him. Mostly Sasuke saw it as rather endearing and nothing to be worried about. After all, it really did come down to, he was a mysterious human from a far away 'clan of humans' and he obviously wasn't related to them, and they saw him a lot. It didn't seem to bother any of them that he'd been alive for over a decade before they were even born. He scoffed at that though.

He'd run into Kyuubi earlier that day while he was waiting for the hunt to start. He'd asked about the kits' maturity level and discovered some valuable information. While it was usual that foxes aged seven years for every human year, for fox demons it was reversed. They aged one year for every human seven. But while one might think that would stunt their maturity, it actually didn't. Their maturity level increased by eleven years in only one human year. This explanation combined with Ruko's sly revelation made Sasuke far less bothered by the kits' attentions. It was puppy love, or rather, kit love. They were teenie boppers. He had nothing to be concerned about.

Sasuke watched with a small trace of pride as Yurei caught her assigned deer and resumed her normal size. He leapt down from the tree he was in and went to congratulate her as he had the other two. But it seemed that she avoided his gaze and his words and focused on her mother and sisters. It was strange because she wasn't obviously ignoring him; it was subtle, and practiced. He would have to find a way to mention it later, but for now he followed the four vixens as they gathered up the rest of the dinner in quick order. Now that the formalities were over, in their larger forms they set about snatching up deer in a fashion far easier than the 'hunt'.

* * *

Later that night Sasuke laid on the grass watching as Naruto played with his children. He'd made sure to remind him as subtly as possible during dinner about their agreement. The dobe had nodded and looked almost excited about the idea. Now, after dinner, in the warm summer evening they played tag and hide and seek all at once. Sasuke had yet to get his chance to try and pull Yurei aside and get to the bottom of her ignoring him. But as was the case earlier, her talent for ignoring someone was excellent. Also this was her time with her father that Sasuke had made sure to set up in accordance with his plan.

Speaking of his plan, it was working out great. He hadn't figured out the benefit of the kits' crush until only a few moments ago. They would want to spend more time with him which would bring him back into the family picture again. Even if it wasn't so much in a 'family' way as it was a 'hey look who MY mate is' way. Which, probably in the long run might be so great. Admittedly he was working out the kinks in his brain, but he tried to think of this whole 'crush' scenario as a help rather than a problem. So far he was mostly successful. He smirked as Ru struggled tenaciously to reach her father while he held her away with one paw. Lena was cuddling his ankle and Yurei was attacking his tail, when she could reach it of course. It was all very loving in a surprisingly human way. Sasuke was comforted and yet shocked to see the foxes acting in a way that he could so easily relate to human behavior. It must be a fluke, he decided.

After a few hours of good clean fun, Sasuke managed to pull Yurei away from her sisters. This was very hard to do as she was intent on ignoring him, and those three were always together. He was quite proud of himself when he finally got her alone. So proud he nearly forgot why he had done so in the first place.

"Why are you ignoring me?" He started.

Yurei kneaded the grass with her front paws and stared at the ground. Her ears were swiveled around to the back and flatted against her head. Her tail was swishing back and forth agitatedly, curled in as though she wanted to tuck it in between her legs. Sasuke noted that his fox-speak was effortless now and that he sometimes didn't even noticed when he was speaking it. How long would it be, before he forgot how to speak human?

"I overheard mother telling you that we thought of you as a human mate would…I just didn't want to add to that impression because I really _don't_ think of you that way!"

"Really don't, huh? I'm that unappealing?"

"No! It's not that! I mean, well," she still wouldn't meet his eyes; "Ru and Lena feel that way I'm sure. So if you're looking for admirers you do have them. But you're father's mate so I don't see why you're so concerned with this…"

After that she did look up from the grass and meet his eyes, challenging him. Betraying one's mate emotionally was unspeakable in fox culture. Infidelity when it came to sex wasn't thought of because it wasn't unusual for one male to mate with many females. To run off and nuzzle and make eyes at some other fox or vixen, however, was heavily scorned.

Sasuke had forgotten entirely, again, that he was Naruto's mate. He wasn't sure how he had, with how the dobe reminded him so voraciously those few months ago and his vivid memories of earlier years…he stared at the grass. Those were some of the memories that Sasuke had decided early on the other Sasuke could keep to himself. The worst part was they were filled with so much pleasure he often felt himself warm up to them. Then he would consider the humiliation of being taken by any man, let alone the dobe. He would hate them after that.

"I'm not so concerned, really." Sasuke chose to turn this on Yurei, for the sake of saving his own hide, "But I don't understand how a kit of your intelligence would even consider suggesting such things. To think I would betray your father that way…"

Sasuke nearly choked at the wording he had unintentionally used. Thankfully his pained expression was taken by Yurei as insulted. The vixen skulked low to the ground and hurried off towards the cave. He felt marginally bad, in the back of his mind, for making Yurei look bad. Out of the kits he liked her best, since she was so quiet and reserved most of the time. But at the moment he was frozen, considering how much those words meant, something he rarely did. _To think I would betray your father that way…_ he had, no, wait, he hadn't. That was what the dobe thought. Had thought. He was getting better. He understood.

Sasuke shook his head.

"Getting defensive are you?"

Sasuke's feeling of ice melted instantly at having been caught by the dobe of all people. He turned around to face Naruto in his demon form.

"She asked an inappropriate question and I answered it the way that's expected of me." Sasuke quipped.

"Gee, just when I was getting my hopes up that you were really defending us-I mean me. No, it's you living up to people's expectations." Naruto narrowed his eyes and scowled. It was an expression Sasuke was seeing on the dobe more and more often. It didn't look good on him, and Sasuke didn't like it.

"Why do you have to pay such close attention to what I say and take everything so seriously?" Sasuke snapped.

Naruto backed up and then snorted, "So you want me to ignore you? But you're not okay with my daughter ignoring you? What's that supposed to mean?"

Sasuke cringed as he too noted the underlying implications. "It doesn't mean anything! She can ignore me if she wants; I just wanted to know what I did!"

"So you do want me to ignore you?"

"Sorry I didn't answer all of three questions at the same time! What is with you?"

"Nothing's with me." Naruto grumbled, hurriedly shifting forms and loping off towards the cave.

Sasuke growled, kicking up grass and dirt. Why did the dobe have to be so god damned difficult? Their arguments were getting more and more senseless. They would start out of nowhere and because of the stupidest things. It was getting old. It reminded him greatly of their rivalry when Team 7 first started. Back then they weren't close at all, so the arguments had real dislike behind them, and they were just another way to say 'hey, I have a problem with you'. That was exactly it. Naruto still had a problem with him. What could he possibly still be angry at him for? Sasuke thought that he'd explained himself very well that night. He'd explained even more than he planned to or wanted to. But _still_ the dobe wasn't satisfied? He never would be!

Sasuke stalked into the cave and settled down on his side of it. It seemed that until the kits were old enough to leave the cave he would remain on this side. Though, at this point, Sasuke wasn't sure if he wanted to sleep on the dobe's back again. If he was being so difficult. He rolled onto his side and faced the cave wall, sulking. A few minutes later he felt a nudge on his back and glanced behind him. An apologetic looking vixen was gazing at him woefully. He huffed and wheezed, and panted. A mixture of sounds that couldn't clearly translate into human, but let out a sense of acceptance and forgiveness. Yurei yipped at him, smiling before flopping down next to him with her back pressed against his.

That night he slept rather well, with a young vixen pressed against his back. He knew that this behavior was not too rare for litter mates to express and was essentially innocent. What wasn't so harmless was the potential gossip among the lesser clan members that might find out what Sasuke woke up to. In fact, the next morning when Sasuke happened to awake before his fox family, Sasuke did not see a smoke colored vixen lying next to him. A petite human girl with thick grey hair was snuggled against his back, sleeping peacefully. She'd shifted in her sleep. A show of trust expressed only towards a mate.

* * *

Sasuke had nudged Yurei that morning and made sure she shifted back before the others found out. Needless to say the young vixen was thoroughly confused and sorry for her actions. She promised not to tell anyone. Though Sasuke truly did not think anything of his 'mate's child, since he was the elder in this situation it would look terrible for him. After that, Sasuke waited impatiently for the one year marker to be up for the kits to move out of the cave.

They did move out of the cave, eventually. Then, Ru and Lena stayed on as huntresses for their mother. But Yurei surprised everyone by leaving the clan entirely. It wasn't uncommon, but it _was_ permanent. She couldn't return to their territory without being seen as intruder. But, she would be allowed to have her own family and live in her own territory outside the clan. That was something that none of the lesser vixens in the clans would be allowed. Even the vixens shared between Kyuubi and Naruto were only mated with when they weren't in heat and couldn't possibly bear litters of their own.

Naruto was hit the hardest by Yurei's leaving the clan. Ever since Sasuke had encouraged he become closer to his children he'd spent an enormous amount of time with his kits. He was far closer to them than to any litters Ruko had ever borne to him. Then, without reason or warning she disappeared, having left the usual scratch marks on the trees on the border where she crossed over. She'd grown into a beautiful vixen, and it surely wouldn't be long before she attracted a mate and started a family. She had the strength to be an alpha-female and Sasuke knew she would be one in whichever territory she eventually settled in. But as Sasuke had once predicted, there was more to her than met the eyes. Even though she wasn't allowed to return, Sasuke saw her again, twenty five years later.

**TBC…**


	16. Fox Den: Chapter 8

Fate's Garden

Part 2 - Fox Den

Chapter 8 - True

* * *

Naruto stretched and yawned widely. That day marked the twenty-sixth year they'd been in this life. Twenty five years since his daughter had left home. He pressed his eyes shut at the memory and then opened them, the thought forgotten. It was very odd, and yet comforting, to be in one life for so long. This was longer than he'd lived in his first life, even. It was nice. He was settling down. Naruto was really starting to like this life. But, at the same time, he was using it as a security blanket, and he hated himself for it. He and Sasuke had grown so far apart over the years it was almost like those two years he was gone in their first life. They were like strangers that knew each other very well.

Naruto licked Ruko's muzzle, rubbing his forehead against her neck and shoulders. She hummed at him, panting and yipping her affection. Then she stretched, waking up and leaving the cave so she could start her day. He then walked over to Sasuke and licked him. He was rewarded with a scowl and a kick to his ankle that he didn't feel at all. He wanted to make things right with Sasuke. He did. Was it so wrong that he didn't want to trust Sasuke one hundred percent? Why was it so wrong for him to give him only ninety-five? As Sasuke had said they weren't friends. They weren't anything. Naruto was important to Sasuke and that was it. Why couldn't Naruto devote the rest of himself to someone else more deserving, like Ruko?

That was something that Naruto hadn't necessarily expected over the two and a half decades he'd been in this life. He'd really come to cherish his mate, his vixen, Ruko. He didn't love her like a human would love their mate. He considered her a partner, someone he could rely on for everything and then some. The sex had no meaning really, other than what it actually was, physical desire. It was just another way of expressing his affection, and his dominance. He knew that she felt just as strongly for him and that would never change. It wasn't the same kind of connection that Naruto knew he had with Sasuke, but it was just as strong. Naruto knew that he could trust his vixen with his whole self.

Naruto liked Sasuke, he did, really. He trusted him even, for the practical important things. It was only self preservation that kept him from giving him the last part. Sasuke just couldn't understand that. He probably never would. This rift between them needed to end, it was getting ridiculous. But Sasuke was already up and out of the cave and Naruto knew he wouldn't see him until he ambled into the cave later that night. Great.

* * *

Sasuke scowled at his reflection in the water. He'd never considered himself vain. He was so focused on his goals and getting stronger that he didn't bother to care what he looked like. But now that he was…old, he realized he cared very much. Alright, so he wasn't old. If you didn't call edging on fifty old then good for you. Sasuke stared at his wrinkles and knew that they were self-imposed due to all of the scowling he'd done and all the worrying. But he still chose to blame anything else but himself.

Everything was becoming harder when he was older. Moving itself was a chore, and sleeping on the cold cave floor hurt his joints almost as much as standing up did. He was sure he would be dying any day now. After all, if he didn't have the sure-footedness of a shinobi he'd be an injury waiting to happen. Lord knew he didn't get the proper nutrition he should be at this age, living out in the wilderness like he did. Naruto was just fine, thanks to his stupid fox-years he aged in. Aging one human year for every seven. He'd really only aged three years, almost four, this whole time. Unless the dobe killed himself when he died there was no way Sasuke was going straight to their next life. He would force himself on Naruto's godly father and beg to stay in the garden till the dobe's biological clock was up.

After he was done washing up Sasuke set about the difficult task of climbing out of the river without hurting himself. His joints creaked woefully loud. He grumbled in fox speak without meaning to. Pulling on his shorts was a chore, as was merely living these days. Once he was all set to go get breakfast (which he now needed assistance getting for himself, he sure was the butt of everyone's jokes now) he started heading towards the feeding area. But he was stopped by a rather gracefully dressed woman he didn't recognize.

She was familiar to him but he wasn't sure how. It must be his old age squandering his memory, he was sure of it. She was beautiful in a shy, subtle way. Her grey hair wasn't from age as Sasuke's was, but natural and it flowed down to the small of her back. She was shapely, not skin and bones, nor overweight, and seemed to have left her clothes at home. Wherever her home was. No human from the village in the valley, or from anywhere, would dare set foot in Naruto and Kyuubi's territory. They were very diligent about protecting their borders from intruders.

"Who are you?" He barked, momentarily forgetting to speak human.

"Pet, you sure are getting old if you can't remember me," the woman smirked speaking fox with him easily.

Sasuke squinted at her, honestly thinking about it. Who…was…she…? Finally, in exasperation she transformed and glared down at him. Yurei. He would be in so much trouble if he was caught with her and he hadn't tried to alert the others. He could plead that he was a weak old human and there was no way he could escape her. But that couldn't work…right? Or maybe it would? He had to try.

"Yurei you shouldn't be here."

"Didn't we used to argue about not betraying one's true mate?" She asked him, her eyes never leaving his face.

Sasuke backed away from her. "What are you getting at? You should leave before the clan sees you. They'll kill you on sight, Yurei!"

"Don't you remember that morning I shifted? Don't you?"

"I do, but that doesn't matter. For me to allow you to stay true I would have to betray _my_ mate. I can't do that. You know it."

"Why must you act so cautious? I'm the more mature one here and _you_ know _that_."

"Because for being the more mature one you aren't acting like it, leave now before I tell the others!"

"You wouldn't dare try." Yurei snarled.

"What would you do if I did, Yurei? Would you hurt the mate you insist on being true to?" Sasuke was bluffing and probably not well but he needed to get away from her. He had to find the dobe. He hadn't said more than a few words to him in more than a few years. But right now he needed him and he was too far away.

"Coming from the bitch that hurts his mate all the time? That's just _PATHETIC_!" Yurei yowled, her last words coming out as almost a shriek.

Sasuke growled and forced his old body to move past her. But age had crippled him in a way it shouldn't for any real shinobi. One decisive paw caught him and threw him against a tree, snapping his spine like a twig and shattering his skull.

End of Part 2


	17. Living With Rabbits: Chapter 1

********

Fate's Garden

Part 2.5 - Living With Rabbits

Chapter 1 - Little One Eats Rice

* * *

Naruto was patrolling the borders of his territory, thinking about Sasuke. He'd gotten to the point where he'd worked himself up into state of overwhelming guilt and shame. He felt so terrible for ignoring Sasuke and starting fights with him for nothing. He wanted to fix things, he did. He wanted to make Sasuke understand his viewpoint and make everything go back to normal. But as he was thinking about going to find the teme a mass barking and yowling rose up from all over the territory. Cries of anger, of mourning echoed throughout.

There was an intruder, and they had killed a member of the clan. The chain of mourning howls relayed the message over miles. Snarling, Naruto turned and sprinted towards the direction of the ruckus. Whoever had killed a member of his clan would pay. No one messed with the clan of Lords Kyuubi and Kyros. His adrenaline pumping, his heard pounding, he could smell the anger and the sadness in the air. The growls and clacking of fangs worked their way into his ears as he came closer and closer to the scene of the crime.

There was a circle of foxes up ahead and when they heard him coming they turned to see who it was. When they saw it was him they parted and allowed him to enter the ring. In the middle, lying curled up as small as she could be was his daughter, Yurei. There were bite marks all over her, and it was obvious that if let go she wouldn't be alive by the time she made it the border. She was whimpering and yowling, her tail tucked between her legs and pressed firm against her belly. All of the clan was baring their teeth, and barking at her. Hackles were raised and fur was on edge.

Naruto remaining in his fox form was filled with only a few emotions, and none of them forgiving. Anger, for her, his _daughter_ to kill a clan member, how dare her? Sadness that he would now have to kill her, and then lastly, happiness for avenging his clan by killing the intruder who had hurt them. He circled her, swooping in to snap his jaws at her haunches without actually biting her. It was a show to satisfy the clan, and oddly, to satisfy himself. He wanted to scare her and make her last moments her worst.

After several minutes of the scaring he dived in and added his own damage. Biting down and ripping out chunks of flesh and fur, over and over until he reached her throat and crushed it between his jaws. When the intruder lay still he yipped and pranced around the body, announcing that the clan was avenged. Following this he turned and inquired of his brethren who the foul one had killed. There was a mourning cry as the name was uttered.

"Pet."

* * *

Sasuke awoke in the living room of the grandfather's house. In fact, he noted he was on the same couch as last he woke there in between lives. He was just as exhausted as last time too, and his back ached terribly. He groaned as he sat up, bending and twisting about in order to hear the desired crick-cracks from his spine. Sighing he slid out from under the blanket and gazed about the empty room. None of the gods or their children was around. Oh well. He was technically apart of the family, it wouldn't be a crime for him to go into the kitchen and make himself some breakfast.

Standing up and stretching he set about dodging pillows and chairs and bunched up carpets that might try and trip him. The living room was messy in a lived in way, as opposed to a 'gee you're a slob' way. He liked it, to an extent. Getting to the entryway to the kitchen was an exercise in patience; he nearly fell over several times. But it was not in vain. He reached the kitchen and realized he had no idea where anything was kept. He snorted. On with the exploration. He peered in drawers, opened cabinets, took one look into the refrigerator and wondered about the utility bills. Then he realized this was a god's house and there were no bills to pay. _That must be nice._ He thought idly.

It took him upwards of half an hour to find a bowl, a pan, some rice and some vegetables. Then he slouched in front of the wooden stove where he had the pan sat on top while he waited for his food to cook. It was a while before he discovered that he hadn't lit a fire in the stove, nor gathered wood to be lit. That required another slice of time a glutton might cut for himself. Once Sasuke had finally finished cooking and curled himself up into a miscellaneous arm chair in the living room with his rice bowl he noticed he hadn't really been hungry to begin with. But all the same he ate his breakfast because so much effort had been put into it. He sighed.

As he was eating Sasuke was slowly starting to remember what happened that led to his death. Yurei showing up and yelling at him and saying things she had no right to say. He snarled into his food as he focused on inhaling rice and broccoli. Naruto wouldn't even find out what really happened either. If Yurei was allowed to talk, that is. She probably wouldn't be, and would just be killed. Sasuke swallowed a particularly difficult carrot and thought about the dobe. He'd probably go with instincts first and kill the intruder, he'd learned that much over the two and a half decades he'd been in that life. There had been only three intruders over that course of time and they were all killed without hesitation. But this was Yurei, Naruto's daughter, one of the 'chosen three' as they'd been called since Naruto had grown so close to them. He'd realize what he'd done later and be out of his mind with grief. Sasuke would like to think that grief might not outweigh that of the sadness over his mate's death. But, Sasuke snorted derisively, he might not care at all seeing how little they talked. He grumbled.

"Very grumpy I see," the grandfather chuckled.

Sasuke looked up from his breakfast to see the old man waddling across the living room towards him. He was alone and seemed perfectly fine with Sasuke's presence. He was smiling in that knowing, patient way he usually did. Eventually the old man had pulled chair over and sat down next to his guest. Then he sighed in content and said nothing. Sasuke stared at him, waiting for him to say something, anything. But the old man refused him, staring up through the beautiful skylights as if he really had nothing to say.

"Do I have to move on…before the dobe?" Sasuke asked, "I can't just stay here, can I?"

The grandfather's head moved slowly around to face Sasuke, as though what he'd said wasn't all that important.

"I would have you move on," the grandfather started, "if my grandson was not intending on taking so long to leave his life behind."

"So I can stay?" Sasuke clarified.

The old man turned away from him again, peacefully ignoring him in that slightly aggravating way. He seemed so intent on staring at every bit and piece of the room, taking in everything that he saw nearly every day. Were there days here? Sasuke had no idea.

Just as he felt himself relaxing Sasuke was startled by the grandfather's voice answering his question, "You might inquire about living with Yuuta. I believe he has a spare room at the burrow. You might find the children suitable playmates until you move on."

Playmates? How old did this guy think he was? Five? Sasuke scowled and prepared himself to ask where he might find the rabbit god. But the grandfather was already toddling out of the room, calling delightfully over his shoulder, 'I'll be in the garden, little one!'

Sasuke glared at his empty rice bowl and mumbled, "I'm not _little_…"

**TBC…**


	18. Living With Rabbits: Chapter 2

**Fate's Garden**

Part 2.5 - Living With Rabbits

Chapter 2 - Hey Cousin

* * *

Sasuke stood on the large wraparound porch of the grandfather's house with his arms crossed heavily over his chest. Eventually, seeing that the aggravating old man was not going to help him, Sasuke had helped himself and wandered outside. Now he was staring off into the horizon, trying to decide if it would be really worth it to go off in search of Yuuta's burrow. What did gods do with their time anyways? _There is no time here_, he reminded himself. His lips curling into a sneer he started down the path leading from the house into what seemed an endless field.

The grass was tall, rising up to his waist, and it was a healthy green. It tickled his hands, and was soft on his feet. The sky was blue with no sun in sight, and a pleasant breeze ruffled his hair. It was so…peaceful here. He felt almost as if he'd rather do nothing but sleep. He could sleep when he found Yuuta. For the moment he had to keep moving. Slowly, a gnarled old tree began appearing within the sea of grass. The closer he got the more he saw of it and the more he didn't like it. Sasuke squinted, unconsciously quickening his pace, making for the tree. Once he reached it, he saw a hole in the front of it leading down deep inside of the tree. The dilapidated old thing had no leaves to its name, and its bark was hard and callused. Sasuke carefully approached it, thinking to knock on the tree to announce his presence. A voice he hadn't expected rumbled out of burrow.

"What are you doing here, kit? I thought you were intending to play with Pi and Shou." Sure enough, Shukaku clambered out of the tree in her animal form, scowling as always.

"Oh, it's you," was her bitter acknowledgement when she saw him, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for Yuuta?" he offered.

The tawny coon laughed and said, "Keep going, he lives all the way past the woods, kit."

Sasuke nodded to her and resumed his walk. After a few minutes his legs grew heavy and the air about him changed. He felt like he was walking underwater. He held his arms out in front of him and felt his hands connect with something smooth and pliable. It was very strange because when he looked around he was still in the field, nothing appeared to have changed. When he gazed ahead of him there was nothing but more fields. His hands were resting against thin air it seemed. But when he pushed past the surface everything changed.

The air was hot and humid, the sky a dusky sunset. He'd wandered into a tropical rainforest. Mist hung about his feet and flowers, vines, and palms were everywhere. All he could see ahead of him was forest, and when he turned to look over his shoulder, the field was gone and there was more vines awaiting him. He continued on ahead, forcing himself to remember that there would be no frightening creatures here. It was a home for the gods, shaped and warped to their fancy. _Besides, I've left the most frightening monster behind in that field_, he thought to himself, in the hopes of lightening the mood.

He moved on and on, and as he went he thought he heard someone. He heard laughter and happy voices. Sasuke went to carry on when all of a sudden he found himself on the ground underneath a massive black panther. It roared playfully at him, smiling large dangerous fangs.

"Hey cousin!"

Sasuke tried to force out a greeting but none came forth. He was saved from trying further when another panther appeared, crashing into the one on top of him. They were both sent flying off to the side somewhere. Lastly out of the trees came a tall auburn furred coon. Out of that tall creature came a voice Sasuke never thought he would be grateful to hear.

"Sasuke!" Gaara called enthusiastically.

The coon morphed into a tall young man with vivid red hair and a welcoming smile. It would take Sasuke forever to get used to that smile. The panthers wandered over towards them, more interested in their 'cousin' than their game of wrestling.

"Hello Gaara."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm staying with Yuuta until the dobe moves on to our next life."

"With Uncle Yuuta?" Gaara questioned kindly while the panthers snickered, "You do understand how far off that is, right?"

"Your cheerful mother was sure to inform me."

"Well, traveling is more fun with friends, we shall accompany you!" Gaara smiled reassuringly at him.

"And these two must be Pi and Shou?"

"I'm Pi," said the one on the left.

"I'm Shou," said the one on the right.

"How you've been cousin?" They asked in unison.

"…alright."

Sasuke shared an exasperated look with Gaara before climbing to his feet. Together, with two identical chipper panthers following, they continued on in the direction that Sasuke was headed. It wasn't long before the passed through a similar barrier and they left the jungle behind. Now they stood in barren wetlands. Salt plains interspersed with fresh water and bog trees, water lilies and cat tails. The air was salty and burned his nose a little. As they moved through Sasuke noted the three turtles lounging in the water, unmoving. An even larger one sat off to the side of them, and turned to smile at Sasuke and his traveling companions.

Gaara raised a hand to wave at the old man, "Hello Uncle Ko!"

"Hello, nephew! How are you?"

"I'm okay, just helping Sasuke get to Uncle Yuuta's burrow."

"Oh, why don't you take Ichi, Ni, and San with you?"

"The more the merrier…" Sasuke muttered to himself.

Pi and Shou nodded eagerly, "Sure! And then we can pick up Sada, Aiko, Ishiko, and Kohana when we get to Aunty Uta's place!"

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven…plus him equals twelve? Sasuke groaned inwardly. Him plus eleven other people? For this trip that supposedly would take forever? He'd give up before he got anywhere close to his intended destination. If there was one thing that people could say about Sasuke Uchiha, it was that he was _not_ a people person. And though he wasn't going to be surrounded by people, he'd be surrounded by gods, it didn't really matter. They were all obnoxious. The turtles all shifted to their human forms so they could keep up with them, and their journey resumed.

Sasuke was _exhausted_. EVERYONE had tagged along. Out of all of them the only familiar faces were Gaara, and surprisingly Haku and Zabuza. The latter two had been a shock, well, that was putting it mildly. They were the two remaining children of Chikao, the six tailed lizard demon. Apparently the woman's four other children never 'hatched'. The two had greeted him in a surprisingly amicable manner. Sasuke and Naruto had been so busy during their second life as genin that they hadn't even noticed not having to go on that mission into the mist.

By the time they'd reached Yuuta's burrow, they were fifteen in number. Sasuke was shoved forward into the burrow by the others, despite his want to at least knock. The first room they entered was huge and had many chairs and couches, though not nearly as many as the grandfather's living room. The tall rabbit god came strolling into the living room and smiled warmly at his visitors. It must not be horribly rude if all of your nieces and nephews show up in your home unannounced in the realm of the gods. Sasuke snorted. Yuuta informed his siblings' children that his two little kittens were making cookies and they were all welcome to join them. Sasuke remained where he was, more than happy to sit in the living room alone.

Yuuta smirked, taking the seat next to him, "Now that they are all out of the way and you can breathe, how about you tell me what you're doing here?"

Sasuke sighed in relief, "Naruto hasn't transferred over to our next life yet…I'm staying here until he does."

"Ah, well I believe my father might have told you to come all the way out here then?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Well you passed with flying colors, you were determined enough to get here, and you did, despite your eager helpers."

"Where exactly is the room, please?"

"Right this way." Yuuta chuckled rising from the couch and gesturing towards a hallway to their right.

Sasuke wearily stood up and followed him away from the cacophony emanating from the kitchen.

**TBC…**


	19. Living With Rabbits: Chapter 3

Fate's Garden

Part 2.5 - Living With Rabbits

Chapter 3 - Swatting

* * *

"Pet."

Naruto turned on the one who uttered the name. They yowled and whined, bowing their head respectfully. The ring parted to show him 'pet'. Naruto padded to the river's edge and stared across, where at the base of a blood stained tree Sasuke's body was bent in half. The back of his head was a bloody mess, hair and bone and so much blood. Naruto walked into the water and across the span of Sasuke's private bathhouse, his paws shaking as they reached the other shore. He nudged Sasuke's lifeless body with his nose; he nuzzled it, getting sticky red all over himself. Naruto rubbed his forehead against the corpse, moving it onto its side where it then rolled over on to its broken back. Soulless eyes stared up at him. He was dead. He'd left him, he'd…

He howled, collapsing to the ground, his head laid over the body.

His clan howled and pranced about, kicking up dirt and whimpering. The grieving began then, and every morning they would spend the first hours of their day with this mourning ritual for an entire year. Every day he would remember him, remember his death, and he would be one step closer to recovering from it. He knew it was important but Naruto didn't want to grieve. He wanted to keep going. He'd done this before when bad things happened. He would get frustrated and see them as a distraction, something he didn't want to deal with. Then he would move on, keep going until he eventually broke down. But now he didn't want to think of the inevitable. He wanted to _move_.

For all he knew, Sasuke had asked Yurei to kill him.

* * *

Sasuke lay alone in the dimly lit room. The bed he'd been met with was surely big enough for the dobe's fox form in the life he'd just left. Now he lay in the center of it, relishing in the silence. The chatter was distant now, down the hall and to the right and then a left. Finally he could be alone and relax. The dirt ceiling was interrupted by the occasional gnarled root, and the door to the room was surprisingly small with a wooden handle in the shape of a heart. There was a large claw foot tub on the opposite side of the room from the bed. To Sasuke it required a ladder to climb into, and it was the size of a small pond in width, but ten foot deep. How he was supposed to bathe himself while treading water he wasn't quite sure. But, he didn't suppose that he'd get too filthy in the gods' realm. He hadn't really been hungry earlier; he'd just made breakfast out of habit. So who knew?

He wanted to sleep. He was so tired when he first arrived. Sasuke rolled over onto one side, and then back onto the other. He lay on his back, on his belly; he curled up into a ball while embracing his knees. He couldn't seem to make himself tired. He watched as a blue ball of light fluttered about, just barely eluding his lazy swatting. He inched himself across the bed without getting up onto his hands and knees, using one hand to paw through the air at the teasing light that kept moving about. He sighed.

Sasuke found himself distracted from his pursuit of sleep by a tentative knocking on the door to his room. When he was too lazy to provide an answer the door opened to reveal a short girl with curly white hair and long jack rabbit ears. She shuffled her rabbit feet, trying to find her voice.

"Um, Sasuke, the others were wondering if you'd like to help us…we were going to make cakes next…"

Sasuke stared down at her from the lofty height of the bed and sighed.

"…sure."

Her smile was shy and small, but it seemed to light up the whole room. She waited for him to come all the way down from the bed before taking his hand in her tiny one and leading him down the hallway.

* * *

Sasuke really did lose track of time, or rather, the concept of it. There was no time here. He slept when he wanted, ate when he wanted, swam about in his bath tub when he wanted. He hung out with his 'cousins' a great deal either because they forced him or because he grew bored. Sasuke eventually decided they weren't _that_ bad. They were annoying like the dobe was annoying. It was a necessary evil. They entertained him for the most part. If they weren't playing tag, wrestling, or cooking they were playing hide and seek. Or sometimes they just sat around talking about the lives they'd gone through. Sasuke found out during one of these discussions that each set of children had one more life to go through than the other depending on the tailed demon who was their parent. Sasuke and Naruto had three lives to go through, and then Yumi and Jinn (Yuuta's children) had had to go through four lives. Eventually this led up to Gaara who had been through the most at eleven lives before he came to the gardens.

But Sasuke had wondered how they all seemed to be showing up at once if they all had a different number of lives to live. Again he was met with that exasperated explanation of timelessness. When Sasuke tried to think of all the expressions that were related to the word time itself it was mind boggling. He had finally learned, after a while, to stop asking the gods what time it was. It was such a strange feeling. Either he felt like he was in a hurry, like he was running late for something or he was so tired that he slept for what felt like forever. There were those blessed moments where he would forget about time all together and simply relax into the atmosphere of being with his cousins. They were all so mature and wizened from their lives lived, or they could suddenly be playful and childish. It was this acceptance of their situation and their family, and themselves that confused and eluded Sasuke. One thing he noticed that made him feel like he was getting a bit closer to their level was how he'd felt in the life he'd just left. He'd been nearing fifty, and he felt physically worn, but he'd never stopped feeling like himself. He didn't feel old, he didn't feel young he felt like himself. It was hard to explain.

As Sasuke had finally settled into the timeless routine of playing, sleeping, baking, eating, Yuuta disrupted it with a sudden announcement. Sasuke was leaving.

They were all settled just outside the burrow in the meadow, playing tag in the rose garden surrounding the short stump entrance to the house. The air was sweet the sky was a misty grey as if they were never quite out of a calm bright morning and the grass was soft on his feet. Sasuke liked it immensely. Now, he didn't want to leave it. He didn't. He caught himself before he stomped his foot in indignation. His cousins immediately surrounded him. He was on the receiving end of licks and hugs and affectionate ruffles to his hair. He surprised himself by not being bothered too greatly. Gaara was the last to bade him farewell, and he instead of hugging him he offered a hand, and a warm smile.

"See you back here, cousin." Gaara murmured as Sasuke took his hand and shook it firmly.

"See you," Sasuke replied.

He stepped up to 'Uncle Yuuta'. The cousins all cheered at him, 'good luck!' he heard and 'we'll see you!' and 'when you get back do you wanna make pie?' All voices were happy and accepting.

Sasuke shook his head and allowed Yuuta to pull him by the neck into a hallway he remembered much differently. He stared around in wonder. The floor was made of soft clean carpet that was a fresh cream color. It was nice on his feet. He shuffled them playfully, not even thinking about his actions. It's what his cousins had taught him, to not think as much. Everything was so much cleaner than it had been last time. The walls were painted instead of them having wallpaper that was peeling. They were a baby blue color with a childish trim along the top that had bunnies chasing each other. The doors had heart shaped door knobs and were plank wood with large cartoony numbers on them instead of peeling stuck on stickers. He noticed further down the hall way there were stuffed animals littered about the floor. He had the sudden urge to play with them.

"Alright little one, it's this door." Yuuta reached forwards and grasped the heart shaped knob pulling the door in front of them open.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes in confusion when he saw that the door knob was farther up than he thought it should be. Why did Yuuta look so tall to him? Had the hallway grown in size to accommodate the rabbit god's true form that Sasuke had previously been in the dark about? He looked down at himself to reassure himself that he looked normal. But there was no brown shorts from the previous life. He was wearing baby sleeper with bunnies on it, it was a pale yellow and quite comfortable. Wait, no, this was wrong. Yuuta reached down and took his hand, leading him over to the door. He tried to fight him.

"Yuuta!" His voice sounded different, no, this couldn't be what he thought it was.

"C'mon, your mate is waiting for you."

With that he was pushed roughly out the door and into the fading black, falling, falling, into a new life.

End of Part 2.5.


	20. Inked: Chapter 1

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**A/N: **Sorry that this came out a week later. But srsly, you guys are so spoiled! I keep turning out so quick and then I feel bad when I take a week. You know some authors only put out one chapter a month. Lol. But oh well. Here you are, chapter one of part 3. For those of you who want to complain about how the romance is going to happen please consider that there is still a part 3.5 and a part 4 to come. Don't worry.

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Fate's Garden

Part 3 - Inked

Chapter 1 - Gummed

* * *

Naruto felt…tired. He'd fallen asleep with his mate Ruko the night before and then he'd woken up in a new life. He'd guessed he'd passed away in his sleep. Naruto had realized quite soon after Sasuke's death that he was fine, he'd probably moved on to the next life already and if he hadn't that his father was taking care of him for the time being. He could find a way to kill himself and follow the teme into their next life but he hadn't wanted to. Naruto knew that in the grand scheme of things that this life didn't mean the most but it meant the most to him then. He didn't want to leave Ruko, and his clan just to follow some bastard that had left him far too many times. He was going to stay in that life until he either died of old age or befell some other means of death.

Well, with the way foxes aged he had remained in that life for a long time. It was true that foxes only aged one year physically for every human seven so they lived for a far longer time than humans. But they also matured faster. They grew in maturity level eleven years for every human one. By the time he died, by fox years he was eighty-two, and by human years he was four hundred and sixty-two. That was a long time. So roughly when he did the math once he'd died he had the maturity of a human should they have lived for four millennia. Or rather, he should have, Ruko told him it was likely that he hadn't matured completely as he should due to him having been once human. After all, he had stubbornly refused to follow his mate into the next life. Now even he wasn't really looking forward to seeing Sasuke again. He'd lost so much over the years; he'd been to so many funerals. By the time he was one hundred and fifty years old all the people he'd known from his human life had died. Even Konohamaru had passed on and had grandchildren by then.

He sighed, glancing around the room he'd woken up in to establish what sort of life he lived now. It was his last, supposedly. The room was small, barely big enough for the single bed, dresser and closet it contained. Next to the dresser, of all things, was a tiny bed made for a toddler. There was a lump under the blankets that appeared to be asleep. Naruto peeled the blankets off of him and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. His feet pressed easily against the cool wooden floor that was splattered with paint in all colors. He stood and walked over to the open window next to the child's bed first to gaze out at a part of Konoha he wasn't too familiar with. He recognized the hokage tower and sighed at that dream he lost so very long ago. Naruto supposed that now with his divinity it didn't really matter but how he had wanted it. It was the only thing he'd ever wanted that much in his life, his first life. But that was all gone now, it was in the past.

A soft gurgle and a yawn came from the small bed to his left. He was used to having children so he didn't really feel too awkward at having one in this life. Naruto just wondered how it would be having a human child as opposed to foxes that were booted out after a year. A small mussed head poked out from under the blankets and stared around the room. Then those eyes focused on Naruto, and he realized just then who his little companion was.

"Sasuke?" Naruto questioned, hatred momentarily forgotten in his surprise.

"Dobe," came the cute voice from an even cuter face, "how long were you in that life anyways? I had to wait forever."

"Four hundred and twenty six years."

"Why didn't you off yourself before then? Seriously, you waited out four centuries?" The voice whined, it was so high pitched and frustrated. The words coming out of that tiny cherubic mouth did not seem right. Naruto had to remind himself that this was his Sasuke, and so that toddler talking about Naruto offing himself was perfectly acceptable.

"Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Oh, I don't know, I guess I'm not used to listening to a two, maybe three year old talk about suicide so casually." Naruto smirked.

Suddenly Sasuke's small round face froze his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.

"What?" he deadpanned.

Naruto stared around the room looking for a mirror. He frowned and headed for the door, opening it and looking back and forth down the hallway outside it.

"Follow me," Naruto motioned with one hand over his shoulder as he left the room.

The pitter patter of tiny feet followed him down the hall and into the bathroom. There were two more doors down that hall, and the first one he tried worked. Like the other room, the bathroom was small. The tiles on the floor were small and light blue, chipped in places, and extended up onto the walls until about midway. There was a shower bath combo on the wall opposite the door and a big red step stool under the sink. A bucket of bath toys rested on the corner of the tub. Naruto reached down and picked Sasuke up, against his will, and held him in front of the mirror. Sasuke glared at the mirror at first, and then inspected himself, twisting this way and that. Eventually Naruto let him stand in the sink and twirl around, inspecting his pale yellow footies. He grabbed at his chubby cheeks and poked his fat baby belly. Then he glared again and demanded to be set on the floor. Naruto obliged him easily and watched as he waddled out of the room and down the hall. He disappeared down a flight of stairs.

Naruto shrugged. It clearly wasn't the weirdest circumstance for them to have fallen into, considering their previous life and all. Sasuke wasn't dumb, he knew how to act any part should someone magically happen to be downstairs and find him walking about. Naruto chose to do some exploring of his own. He went down the hall to the second door he saw.

Behind that door was of all things, an art studio. There was paint splatters on the walls and floor and tall windows as if he just couldn't be bothered to be careful. Spare canvases were stacked against a wall and three easels were already set up with more poking out of a deep closet that had no doors. Buckets of brushes and cabinets with more paints than Naruto could possibly imagine necessary were inside. There were a few finished paintings dried and stacked up on top of each other on the right side of the room. One half finished painting was on the easel directly in front of the windows. Naruto went over to it and studied it carefully. _He'd_ painted this. He'd painted all of these.

He left the room and went down the stairs to find Sasuke. At the bottom of the stairs there was a short hallway, at the end of it was the front door, and to the right was the entry way that led into a 

modest kitchen and the doorway to the left led into a living room. Naruto heard a clatter from the kitchen and poked his head into the room. Sasuke had managed to climb up onto the counter and was inspecting the cabinets and drawers. Naruto worried his bottom lip as he watched Sasuke lean out off of the counter to peer into the freezer. If he wasn't careful he was going to fall. Naruto strode over to the toddler and scooped him into his arms.

"What do you want?"

"Put me down dobe I could have done it myself!"

"You would've fallen and hurt yourself. That's a long ways to fall for someone your size."

"If you keep it up with those comments I'll slit my wrists right now."

Naruto rolled his eyes and opened up the freezer and looked around, "Do you want some ice cream?"

"…hn."

"Alright then."

Naruto grabbed the carton and set it on the counter while he followed slowly appearing memories to the silverware drawer. He grabbed a spoon and wedged it into the ice cream. Then he set the toddler on the floor and handed him his treat. Sasuke continued to glare at him while Naruto diligently ignored his wrath.

* * *

Waking up as a genin, only four years younger than they were in their first life, that hadn't been too bad. But suddenly finding yourself to be a two year old? Sasuke grumbled as he gummed at his spoonful of ice cream. Now, of course, he couldn't eat anything he had to chew because he didn't have enough teeth yet. He was an adult! He shouldn't have to deal with this. The dobe abruptly interrupted his thoughts with a question he hadn't really expected.

"Did you ask Yurei to kill you?"

Sasuke glanced up from the carton to see that Naruto wasn't looking at him, but was clearly waiting for an answer. He couldn't understand why Naruto would assume such a thing in the first place.

"No, of course not."

"So she just killed you for kicks?"

"I refused to be her mate and then she sent me flying into a tree!" Sasuke shouted, loathing the sound of his voice.

"She wanted to mate with you?" Naruto questioned incredulously.

"Well…"

Naruto, staring at him now, arched an eyebrow. Sasuke was preparing himself to tell the dobe about Yurei's mid sleep transformation all those years ago when there was a knock on the front door. Naruto shook his head and snatched the ice cream from Sasuke's chubby hands, chucking the spoon into the sink and putting the carton back into the freezer.

"Not a word," Naruto warned.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and watched the dobe exit the kitchen and venture down the short hallway to answer the door. He waddled over to the doorway and peered around the corner. Naruto was talking to some unfamiliar girl in messy overalls.

"So you're almost done with those paintings right?"

"Right."

"Good, you know the gallery is on Friday, Ru."

"I know, I know Yumi."

"Aw, how's mah fav kiddo?" 'Yumi' carelessly walked past Naruto to where Sasuke stood, wondering what to do.

"Mm," he grumbled as he was suddenly scooped into the arms of some person he didn't know.

"Ah, grumpy I see. Is he still having trouble sleeping, Ru? I'm telling you, you should have that checked, it's weird for kids his age."

_Grumpy? Isn't that what the grandfather said? What is it with everyone calling me grumpy?! I'm just FINE!_ He glowered up at her from where he lay in the crook of her arm.

"Yeah, I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Hyuuga for this afternoon."

Sasuke tried to keep himself from squirming about in Yumi's arms so he could get a look at Naruto. He had a doctor's appointment, for this afternoon? Their first day in a new life and he had to go to a doctor's appointment?!

"Oh good," Yumi turned to face the dobe and passed Sasuke off to him, "I'll see you around, Ru. Later kay."

After a peck to Naruto's cheek and a ruffle of Sasuke's hair, the strange Yumi girl disappeared out the front door. The dobe sighed and set Sasuke onto the floor.

"How do you get memories that fast? That's not fair!" Sasuke whined.

"She did most of the talking; I only remembered her name and the doctor's appointment."

"Since when do you paint?"

"Since this life, I guess. There's a studio upstairs."

"I'm _not_ going to that doctor's appointment." Sasuke crossed his arms, leaning back. This caused his baby belly to stand out more but he tried to ignore it.

"Oh yes you are. Don't make me put you in the playpen."

"Oh like I couldn't climb out."

"Not if I put a seal tag on it."

"You wouldn't dare."

Sasuke felt his shoulders droop when he realized that yes, yes Naruto would. He scuffed his pajama covered foot on the linoleum and unconsciously pouted. He hated doctors.

**TBC…**


	21. Inked: Chapter 2

**Fate's Garden**

Part 3 - Inked

Chapter 2 - Selfish

* * *

"So, Ru is short for Naruto?" Sasuke asked him from his place in the stroller.

"Yes, apparently so."

"That doesn't make any sense though."

"I know, and you're Kay, so don't feel too good about yourself."

"That woman is crazy."

"Okay, you need to shush now, no talking like a fifty year old."

Sasuke clamped his mouth shut and leaned back in his stroller. It was time for them to go to Sasuke's appointment for his nightmares. As the day had progressed they had learned many things from Naruto's rapidly increasing amount memories. They'd had so many problems in the past life and yet they were functioning just fine. Sasuke knew it was just for the first few days or weeks it would be like this. They needed to work together to find their niche in this life and then settle in to it. After that they would drift away again.

Apparently the events of their first life were pretty much the same just in jumbled order and with slightly different outcomes. The Kyuubi incident occurred twenty one years earlier than it had in their first life. Coincidentally all of the normal rookie nine were born earlier as well. So by the time Sasuke's peers were all jounin (or in Naruto's case in the university), he was just being born. The Uchiha massacre took place shortly after Sasuke's birth instead of when he was older and instead of being exiled Itachi was executed. Though one of the memories of the massacre that Sasuke was choosing not to believe was that Itachi was really a good person. It was the clan that was at fault, as they were staging a coup d'état that would ultimately spawn another ninja world war. Itachi was acting as a double agent and was ordered by the hokage to kill the entire clan. But when it came to killing the newborn Sasuke Itachi couldn't do it and handed over the baby to the hokage.

After that the third tried to find a family that would take in the young Sasuke but everyone refused. Word spread quickly of the Uchiha conspiracy and no one wanted to raise the spawn of such a terrible clan. That was when Naruto stepped forward, a young artist barely able to take care of himself while attending university, and said, 'I'll take him.' This was something that Sasuke couldn't understand, each life they'd been in so far Naruto had gone to the ninja academy and strove to be the hokage one day. Granted in the fox life he'd abandoned that dream (because of Sasuke), he had still been a ninja. In this one, Naruto had elected to attend the civilian schools instead. He went through elementary, Jr. High, and high school. Now he was attending the one university in Konoha to earn a degree in fine arts. He often visited the small towns outside of Konoha for gallery shows and was becoming quite well known.

It was taking all of Sasuke's will power to not glare at the world around him. He was being pushed up to the front desk in his stroller, and all the people in the room were staring at them. Naruto hadn't been the attention seeking prankster that he had been in the previous lives, but he was still known as the Kyuubi's jailor. Of course, the Naruto of this life had no idea why he was hated, he just knew that he was and had accepted it. No lasting resentment or drive to be accepted by his village had grown in him. He'd just wanted to have his own life and that was it.

"Yes, I scheduled an appointment for my son Uzumaki, Sasuke with Dr. Hyuuga," Naruto told the secretary.

"Oh, of course, right down that hall, sir."

"Thank you."

His stroller was turned to point down a hallway leading out of the lobby to the right. The old thing's wheels creaked every few minutes against the shiny linoleum, and the bright track lighting hurt his eyes. He grumbled, holding an arm over his eyes. It was a good thing Naruto knew where they were going, because all the doors and signs looked the same to him. Abruptly his 'father' opened one of the tall white doors and pushed him inside. A tall, rather elegant woman was waiting for them, sitting on a small swivel stool next to a counter, idly looking through the contents of a manila folder.

"Ah, Naruto, how are you?"

"I'm fine, Hinata, thank you for making time for us today I know you have a busy schedule."

"It's not a problem, anything for an old friend."

Sasuke gaped at the woman he now recognized as the shy little Hyuuga failure from the rookie nine days. She'd grown into quite the beautiful woman, her hair long and pulled into the traditional knot, her pale white eyes surprisingly warm. She gestured to the examination table and Sasuke was plucked out of his stroller and set upon it. The crisp sterile paper was crinkly and he twisted about on top of it, confused as to why he relished the sound it made.

"Now, you said that this was about Sasuke having trouble sleeping?" Hinata asked Naruto.

His father had sat down in one of the chairs pressed up against the wall opposite the examination table. He was facing Hinata, glancing at Sasuke every few minutes as if to make sure he behaved himself. Sasuke snorted, lifting up his feet and letting them smack down onto the paper, making that sound again. Before they'd left, Sasuke had gone through his dresser and picked out something other than a onesie to wear to his appointment. He'd managed to find a pair of shorts, a plain blue t-shirt, and some smart looking green sneakers that were infinitely fun to walk with. The shoes had light up things in the bottom that glowed orange when he stamped his feet. That's why he was kicking the table, he got to see the lights and make that sound with the paper at the same time. Endless amusement filled him.

"Yes, he's been having pretty terrible nightmares every time he tries to go to sleep. Maybe if it was a scare every now and then I wouldn't be as worried, but it isn't normal for kids his age to have this problem, is it?"

"You aren't exposing him to any scary movies, or stories or anything like that?"

"No, not at all."

"Hmm, no, that's definitely not normal," Hinata agreed, making notes again in Sasuke's file, "I'm gonna recommend you see Yamanaka-sama about this, maybe she can poke around in his head and see about these nightmares. If she can't find a way to stop them then perhaps we should have him see the child psychiatrist."

"Alright, that sounds good."

Sasuke took in all of this, wondering if Yamanaka-sama was Ino or her father. He kicked at the table again, this time particularly loud and Naruto shushed him, gently reprimanding him for being so 'busy'. Sasuke stuck his tongue out at him and then settled down, not pleased with being chided. He hated this life, he hated being a toddler. He wanted to go back to the burrow and let god's child just finish out his lives by himself. Crossing his arms over his chest, Sasuke glared around the room, trying to find a means of escape. Aha. Lying on a shiny metal tray next to the examination table was a sealed packet containing a pair of tweezers, a scalpel, and a needle and syringe. He stared at it, trying to calculate how he could get it open, take the scalpel and kill himself with it before Hinata or Naruto could stop him. Maybe…could children his age control their chakra? Maybe he could make a henge, just for a few seconds. He closed his eyes and pulled together some chakra, even the littlest bit would be good enough…and…_there_.

Sasuke dove for the packet, tearing it open and floundering for the blade inside. His pudgy child hands were making it difficult but he found it, and as quickly as he could found the vein in his wrist. He drove the scalpel into the vein and cut upwards towards his elbow, and started on the next, just as he was about to find that one vein in his leg he could never remember the name of his fragile henge had worn off. Blood was pouring from his arms, and Hinata was staring in wide eyed horror, whereas Naruto merely appeared livid.

"You _idiot!_" Naruto shouted, and Sasuke's eyelids grew heavy and he slipped off the table, falling to the floor. He was gone before he could feel his skull crack.

* * *

"Little one, are you with us?"

"Ugh…" Sasuke groaned, his eyes opening. He was surrounded by the In-laws, or rather, his uncles and aunts. They did not appear happy with him.

Standing directly before him was the grandfather, who did not appear too upset, just…disappointed?

"That was quite selfish of you, little one," the grandfather said, "now, you are going to try again, in a parallel to the life you ended too soon, and you will not make such a foolish choice again."

"What?" Sasuke asked, "What's going on?"

"I'm sending you back, and you shall have a lesson to learn, little one, and it is one you should learn well," said the grandfather.

"But…but, grandpa, I'm sorry, I just didn't want to be so…"

"Helpless?" offered the grandfather, "little one, it makes me sad that you are so afraid, but there is no need to be. When control is far from your reach you are afraid, and unhappy, and so I am unhappy, but you will be fine."

Sasuke stumbled backwards, staring around at the many faces that were so displeased with him, and he felt momentarily ashamed. He stared down at the grandfather, a figure who knew him so well, and yet was such a mystery to him. The old man approached him, took him by the hand and led him from the circle of adults. They were in the garden, yet it had been so dark in the circle that Sasuke had not noticed. The sun was warm and forgiving, and the soft dirt underneath his feet made him feel so at home. The grandfather led him down the path, not saying a word, and offering no clue as to their destination. They walked around the garden, and into the field of Shukaku's home, and his nervousness, his frustration slowly faded. As he relaxed they slowed, and slowed, until they came to a stop in the middle of the field.

"Alright little one, learn, learn, understand," grandfather said, "and perhaps…perhaps you should try building a bridge, hmm?"

Sasuke eyed the old man whose hand he was holding and he sighed. A bridge, and a lesson…he had a feeling he wasn't going to enjoy either, but that they were things he needed to do. So it was that the field disappeared and he fell back into a life. One could not give up, and abandon, when there were so many loved ones determined to help.

**TBC...**


	22. Inked: Chapter 3

**Fate's Garden**

Part 3 - Inked

Chapter 3 - Second Opinion

* * *

The few moments after Sasuke's suicide were the most awkward and infuriating minutes Naruto had ever experienced. Hinata, next to him was petrified, staring at the rigid corpse of the two year old on the floor. _All because he didn't want to be a toddler_, Naruto thought bitterly, _what a selfish bastard._ Now what was he supposed to do? He was still the Kyuubi's jailor in this life, there was no way anyone would believe he hadn't killed his own son. He was a 'monster'. That, and it made more sense than a two year old slashing his wrists. Granted he had a witness, Hinata, and with her reputation they could get this investigated properly. Ino could come in; check their memories out to see if they were telling the truth. They were, and if the third favored him, which he probably would, then the investigation would be called finished and he would be allowed to carry on with his life. Of course the village wouldn't believe the facts and he'd be hated even more. All of this because Sasuke didn't get what he wanted.

Naruto forced himself to calm down, and as he was about to turn to Hinata and talk to her everything went dark. It wasn't as if he'd fallen asleep or passed out. Someone had dropped an impenetrable veil over his eyes for just a moment and then lifted it. Gone was the hospital, and Hinata, and the life he'd had. Now, now he was standing in a lush garden, surrounded by squat plaster walls probably no more than four feet tall. The sky overhead was blue, small fluffy white clouds drifting across it, and yet no summer warmth washed over him. This is the place Sasuke had been visiting all along.

"Kit," a familiar voice called, "over here."

Naruto turned around and saw for the first time, his father. Kyuubi, in his human form was sitting on a short red bench on a tiny island in its small pond. His long black robes were pooled at his feet, and Naruto recognized the long twitching fox ears to be nervous. Naruto offered him a reassuring smile and made his way to the island with confident strides. As soon as he sat down he was pulled into a firm hug. A whimpering yip escaped his father, and Naruto knew it to be the foxes' sound for relief, bittersweet joy. He returned the hug, just as happy to see his father, yet confused as to why he already felt so close to him when this was their first encounter.

"D-dad…" Naruto stuttered as he removed himself only the slightest bit from the embrace, "…why am I here right now?"

"So I can tell you about the new life that's going to take the place of the one you just left," Kyuubi reverted to fox speak, though Naruto barely noticed, "your mate's actions in that life have canceled out any learning to be gleaned from it, and so you have both been given separate lives to go through, in order to learn the lesson you were supposed to there."

Naruto reeled back from Kyuubi on the bench and gaped at him, "…separate lives? The next one I'm going to be without Sasuke the whole time?"

Kyuubi smirked, "In a way, yes."

"What does that mean…?"

"Kit, so far through this whole experience you have been doing well, accepting and going with the new lives and working with them to understand the lessons there. Despite your mate's interferences and distractions you have done splendidly," his father praised, and Naruto felt the smallest bit of triumph in his chest.

"But as I have observed," Kyuubi interjected before Naruto grew too proud of himself, "you and your mate are having quite the misunderstanding…and this cannot happen for you to successfully endure your last life together."

Naruto stared sullenly at the pond.

"So what," he grumbled, "you're going to put us through marriage counseling for gods?"

Kyuubi chuckled, "Sort of."

"I was joking," Naruto reprimanded.

"The life I will be sending you to, Naruto is the life that would have happened if you'd survived Sasuke's attack…and Sasuke had been taken back to Konoha."

Naruto growled, leaping backwards off the bench and catching himself just before he landed in the water. No…he, he couldn't go back there. He'd moved on! He'd progressed past that life…to go back to where it all began would be pure agony. _His_ Kakashi-sensei, _his_ Sakura…everyone…

"This life will be identical to your very first up until this defining point. He will be the closest to your mate there is. I have arranged…for the two of you to return to civilian life instead of carrying on as nin for the sake of convenience. Anything you tell him about this," Kyuubi gestured to the garden and himself, "and your lives, or your mate, he will not be physically capable of telling anyone. No one has ears for this information but him. You speak of these affairs and anyone else that hears it will hear nothing but elaborate gibberish."

"I'm still confused, Dad, what's the point of this? You're going to a lot of trouble to make it so I can tell him everything. Don't you think that's unfair to him…to tell him that basically he'll cease to exist because he's not the Sasuke who's bound to me?"

Naruto glared as his father laughed, "Kit, I think you underestimate your mate's power of understanding."

Kyuubi stretched, yawning wide. He stood up and shuffled over the short red bridge to the rest of the garden, gesturing for Naruto to follow. So Naruto followed; still slightly confused and angry with his father and wanting answers. He didn't even have to ask.

"Naruto, if you think there's something wrong with you when you go to the doctors, and they tell you you're fine, what do you do?" Kyuubi questioned.

"Um, I'd probably be relieved and go home," Naruto answered honestly.

"But if you were truly determined, you _knew_, supposedly, there was something wrong, what would you do then?"

"I guess I'd go find another doctor and ask for a second opinion."

Kyuubi stopped abruptly in his walking and turned to his son; he smiled and placed one soothing hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Childe, you are about to get your second opinion."

Realization struck him just as the ground disappeared beneath his feet and he plummeted out of the gardens and into a life he was dreading.

* * *

Sasuke awoke to the sound of an alarm blaring next to him. He grumbled as his arm flailed out to the side and connected with what felt like an electronic clock. He fussed with the various buttons with his eyes closed. When the atrocious sound was still echoing in his cranium he opened his eyes and forced himself to find the off switch. He sighed, blessed silence. Sasuke's eyelids slid shut once again and he hummed in content. Then…then he remembered where he was. His eyes sprang open and he sat upright, gaze crawling madly over the walls the floor, everything.

The room he was in was fairly plain with dingy white walls with nothing on them. The smooth brown carpet on the floor was crisp, spotless. The bed was in the center of the room and to his right, only a few feet away, was a pair of sliding wooden doors, probably concealing a closet. To his left was a blonde oak desk and sitting upon it was a rather ancient looking computer. A few feet in front of the bed was a door, a way out of the room and towards the rest of this new life. Sasuke wished suddenly that Naruto was with him, he was the one with the memory gaining powers. He didn't want to have to figure everything out by himself.

_Looks like I'll have to, for now,_ Sasuke grumbled to himself.

The clock said that it was roughly seven in the morning. The alarm had gone off to ensure he woke up at this time, so he must have an appointment of some kind. Work, or school perhaps? Though why would he be in school if…Sasuke's eyes raced back to the mirror hanging on the closet door. He wanted to whoop with joy, he wasn't a child, if anything he was back to the age he was in their very first life. People did not have school past the age of twelve…unless they failed their exams or were civilians. Sasuke pushed himself out of bed and over to the closet to inspect its contents.

There was a neatly organized rack inside with pairs of jeans and slacks separated and stacked on top of one another. Shoes, some sneakers and dress shoes were smartly arranged in a row at the bottom, and hanging up on plastic coat hangers were t-shirts, button up shirts, and a few suit jackets. Sasuke noted in the far right end of the closet was a tux in plastic bag, kept separate from the other articles of clothing. As Sasuke thumbed through the suit jackets he came across one with an identifying patch on it that read Fairview High School in orange, black, and white. He was a civilian, and he attended their strange school system.

Sasuke allowed his eyes to sweep over the room again for any other clues, but was halted in his quest for information by a small voice at the door.

"Sasukeeee, it's time for school, daddy's going to be mad if you don't come down and make breakfast before we go."

Sasuke struggled with an answer before finally replying, "Alright, I'll be down in a minute."

Tiny footsteps moved away from the door and down the hallway outside it. Sasuke saw a bag of some sort at the foot of the bed and picked it up, placing it on the bed. It was surprisingly heavy, but not too much for him. Inside were two texts that appeared to be references and were the same size, shape, and weight of a paving stone. Next to that were a few binders, in each were at least one spiral notebook, several sheaves of paper, and more than a few dividing tabs. But, more than that, Sasuke's attention was drawn to the small little book in front. He plucked it out of the bag and looked closely at the cover. There was a picture on it, showing a massive brick building and a few young adults like himself maneuvering around in front of it. He noticed the boys' attire and then glanced at his closet. He had the pieces…he just had to arrange them the right way.

When he was sure that he matched the boys on the cover he inspected his appearance in the mirror. He was wearing trim, spotless black slacks, a matching belt, and shiny leather dress shoes. Sasuke had then donned a pressed, white button up shirt, tucked into his slacks, over it a black vest, and the suit jacket he had found with the patch on it. Then, like the boys in the picture, he'd put on a dark orange tie. The cufflinks on his dress shirt were orange, and so were the buttons on his vest. He looked like some silly ghost child from a kindergartener's Halloween tale heading off for its first day of school.

Remembering the voice telling him to hurry he grabbed his bag and opened the door to his room looking back and forth down the hall. He headed for the stairs to his right and ventured down them into a kitchen. It was fairly large, one counter on the left, another on the right, and in the middle an island with a stovetop. Whereas his bedroom had been plain, this room was a picture perfect example from a better homes and gardens magazine. The walls were a vibrant red, the counter tiles a sun burnt orange, and the tile on the floor was made of huge sandy colored concrete slabs. Immediately off the stairs to the right was a breakfast nook where a strange assortment of people was gathered.

There was a woman, sickly, pale, and bony with stringy black hair and dark brown eyes. She was sweaty, and rasping for breath, her head leaning completely into her hands, with her sharp elbows were propped onto the table. Sitting to her right, appearing relatively happy was a little girl with sleek black pigtails and a heart shaped face, her turquoise eyes gleaming. Next to her was a boy maybe a few years older than her who appeared very solemn, his brown eyes clouded over and his black hair particularly ruffled, he was glaring at nothing. Lastly at the woman's left was a barrel-chested man with dark brown hair and sea-green eyes like the little girl.

"Son, I did you the courtesy of getting the things out for breakfast since you took so long but now you need to hurry up, we all have places to be you know," the man reprimanded him.

Sasuke managed to look appropriately chided before setting about the task of preparing a meal for the more than likely perfectly capable people slouched at the breakfast nook. He didn't find the task too bothersome and it gave him some more time to think. He tried his hardest to remember the names of these people as his hands absently found the things he needed and prepared a meal he'd never cooked before. The little girl and boy…they were his…siblings? Yes. The boy was Suoh, and the girl was Masumi. Suoh was nine, _almost_ ten, and Masumi was six, _almost_ seven. He drove them to school every day.

Mechanically he found himself setting full plates before each person at the table. When he noticed exactly what he'd served them he felt annoyance grow in him, he had no clue what that meal was called let alone how to make it. He'd been so busy trying to figure something else out that he'd just done it automatically. He hoped it would be the same way with driving. The man whom he assumed was his father directed him to cleaning up the 'cooking' mess he'd made, and he assented easily, his mind transfixed on images of a strange transportation device he'd never encountered before flashed before his eyes. It was some type of advanced engine inside a metal frame, with wheels made of rubber, and with leather, cushioned seats inside. They were the standard mode of transportation in this world, and were very fast. He knew how to operate these things, they were called…_cars?_ He would be expected to use one that was waiting for him outside, to 'drive' his younger siblings to 'school'.

"Sasukeeee," Masumi chirped, "time for school let's go!"

The little girl pushed and shoved her way out of the booth and skipped past Sasuke towards the entry way at the other end of the kitchen. His little brother was quick to follow her, idle concern and annoyance etched onto his face. That left Sasuke alone with his 'parents'. He noticed that his 'mother' was still shaking slightly, she hadn't touched her food at all and was staring aimlessly, sweat pouring off of her. She looked severely ill. He was about to say something about it when his father spoke up.

"Now son, I know we just moved here and you aren't all too excited about starting at a new school, but don't let that bring your grades down. You're too good of a student to be affected by things like that," intoned the man warmly. There was something…off, about his new 'father' that he couldn't quite place. Sasuke figured he would discover it soon enough but he already felt himself disliking him.

"I won't, don't worry," Sasuke replied.

"That's my boy, now, your mother and I are headed to her doctor's appointment, and you can go make sure the tykes make it to their new school?"

"Of course, I'm sure Suoh will keep an eye on Masu during the day." Sasuke walked with his parents out of the house. He barely remembered to pick up his 'backpack' on his way out of the kitchen.

His mother was stumbling along, clutching at her husband's arm for stability. She looked like she might fall over dead at any moment. With Sasuke's worry for her increasing he was becoming steadily distracted from his father's words. After exiting the house, locking the front door behind them, Sasuke was treated to his first view of the new life he would be leading. The house they'd walked out of was one in a dozen down a newly paved street, each one slightly different in structure and with bright green lawns and gardens. All had equally aesthetically pleasing 'cars' in front of them, and there were a few families heading towards their own, just as Sasuke's was. There were two cars that belonged to Sasuke's family. One was a small, crisp black vehicle that was squat and low the ground, it looked like an aging potbellied man in a funeral outfit. His mother was carelessly tossed into the side of the car without a wheel in front of its seat, and the door slammed shut. Sasuke tensed as he watched her attempt to strap herself into the seat while his father continued speaking to him.

"Now, your school gets out at…2:30, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Sasuke tore his eyes away from the sickly woman and faced his father.

"The kids there get out at around two, but they'll be in the classroom until you get out of school and come get them, I gave a note to Suoh to give to their teachers but, just in case could you go into their class with them and talk to the teacher about it?"

"Sure."

"Thanks a lot son, you're doing us a huge favor today, this whole first day for everything is sort of putting us all in a bind."

"It's okay Dad."

"Alright, son, we'll see you later tonight."

"Okay."

Sasuke watched as his father fell into the other front seat and turned the car on. Soon he was staring behind him and backing out of the drive and into the street. In only a few minutes they were sailing down the road and out of sight.

"Sasukeeee we're going to be late!" Masu exclaimed at him, stomping her feet impatiently.

"Sorry," he muttered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a set of keys which he assumed belonged to the car he would be 'driving'. _I can do this, really,_ Sasuke thought to himself, _I can keep up with a sannin in full on combat, I can perform S-level techniques, I am Sasuke Uchiha…I _can_ 'drive' a car. How hard could it be?_

**TBC…**


	23. Inked: Chapter 4

************

Fate's Garden

Part 3 - Inked

Chapter 4 - Recovery

* * *

Naruto was not happy. He was quite specifically unhappy with his father. How could he send him to this life? A life so much like his first…with another Sasuke so much like his own? Why? These were the consequences of his actions should he have survived. He was lying in his bed in his old apartment, the sun coming through his window. Naruto heavily considered staying in bed until he died but he couldn't. He couldn't give up and quit like Sasuke had just because he didn't like the life he'd been put in. He had to 'learn'. He knew what had happened since his almost death in this life without having to try and remember. After all it'd only been a few weeks since the divergence point. Naruto sighed wearily and slid out of bed, heading for the door.

He ventured down the short hallway and into the living room, around the corner and into the tiny kitchen. Sasuke was in there, making himself some breakfast. Since Naruto had survived Sasuke's attack he'd been declared mentally unstable, and unfit to be a ninja, demoted to civilian life. After Naruto had fallen unconscious that day Sasuke had been captured and been taken back to Konoha. The only thing keeping him from being executed on their arrival home was Sakura and Naruto's pleas. Naruto agreed to let Sasuke stay with him, and the teams of ANBU keep steady surveillance on them just in case. The two of them were barely living day to day, unsure what to do with each other, unused to having so much time now that they were no longer ninja.

Naruto's father had directly told him what he was meant to do in this life. He was supposed to tell this Sasuke about what had happened and get from him a second opinion. He was supposed to learn more about his mate, and to come to an understanding. But how could he just tell this Sasuke there were other versions of him, that he wasn't essentially the same Naruto that he'd been when he'd gone to sleep last night? Idly he shuffled over to the kitchen table and sat down, hunched over with his chin resting on his arms.

"Morning, dobe."

"Morning teme," Naruto mumbled.

Sasuke set his meal down on the side of the table opposite Naruto and took a seat. Naruto weighed the pros and cons of telling Sasuke the truth. On the pro side he could learn a lot about his Sasuke, he could learn his lesson sooner, and maybe even enjoy his time in this life. On the con side, what about the mental stability of this Sasuke? Was it fair to him to do this little therapy session? Would he even believe him in the first place? Probably not, he'd have to find some help from his father on that. But how did he get in contact with his dad anyways?

"Mm, dobe, take your meds."

"Kay," he answered, pushing himself up and towards the counter where his orange bottle awaited. He fiddled with the child safe cap for a while in his fatigue before finally getting out two pills and putting the lid back on.

Naruto shuffled over to the table again and popped the pills in his mouth, grabbing Sasuke's glass of orange juice and sipping from it to wash down his medication with. Then he sat down again, 

staring at Sasuke's food, trying to decide if he wanted to eat anything. Sasuke was watching him with…confusion, concern? Naruto didn't know.

"Sasuke…" Naruto started, wondering just how terrible of a person he was for starting this conversation at all.

"What is it, Naruto?"

"I'm going to give you a completely hypothetical scenario and I want you to answer as seriously as you can…alright?"

Sasuke arched an eyebrow at him and smirked, "Fair enough."

"Suppose…that you and I had died…that day…and we woke up in another life, and another and…and…that Kyuubi was really a god and I was his son and that I had to go through a number of lives before I could join him and my extended family in the realm of the gods."

"…okay…someone was creative this morning," Sasuke snorted.

"Yeah, and…and in the…" Naruto counted on his hand before continuing, "third life we went to…you and I got into a fight um…I need to know if, if the things you said…if…"

"Naruto what are you getting at?"

"Well, you, in this hypothetical situation where we had a fight, said that um, that you didn't mean everything you'd said at the valley of the end and that you just wanted me to go back to Konoha and wait for you to finish avenging your clan…and that I was…important to you."

Naruto looked up from the table he was gazing at nervously to gauge Sasuke's reaction. It didn't look happy. Sasuke was staring at him, wide eyed, hands lying tensely on the table top.

"If…if you said those things…would you mean them?"

"I don't know, Naruto, because this situation is _hypothetical_, I wouldn't say those things," Sasuke retorted icily, "the next time you have a weird dream like that, keep it to yourself."

Naruto melted, his forehead hitting the table. He knew it, he _knew_ it. Why would his father do this to him? Why would he get his hopes up? No…no, it wasn't his dad's fault. Naruto was the one who'd gotten hopeful, he hadn't even noticed it…his walls going down, the hope building in his chest that maybe he wasn't right. Maybe Sasuke _did_ care, and that Naruto was just blowing things out of proportion. Then again…how could this Sasuke know? He wasn't the one who'd said those things…but…they were almost exactly the same person. Their lives had been identical.

"Dobe."

Naruto stiffened, he hadn't heard Sasuke leave the room but he'd just assumed he had. He hadn't left; he'd remained in his seat at the table the entire time.

"What, Sasuke?" Naruto sighed.

"Why…why did I say those things? In the hypothetical argument," Sasuke asked.

"Because I told you that I let you kill me because I'd given up on you, and I was tired of you never caring, that I was…that I was chasing after a dream that didn't mean anything. You said I just didn't get it and to stop wallowing in self-pity…" Naruto chuckled bitterly as he remembered the argument that had kept them apart for decades.

"Where is all of this coming from?"

Naruto realized the flaw in his plan of calling it all a hypothetical situation as Sasuke demanded the source of such a detailed 'what if'. He couldn't very well say that it had all really happened. Like he'd believe that…

"Never mind Sasuke…it's not that important."

"No, dobe," Sasuke growled, catching Naruto off guard, "you don't get to stir up my shit and then decide it's not important."

"Sasuke, if I told you, you wouldn't believe me anyways! I don't see the point in-"

"Try me."

Naruto watched Sasuke's face, waiting for any sign of defeat, of acceptance, but no. The bastard was determined to have Naruto explain. He couldn't just let it go.

"It all really happened okay, are you happy now?" Naruto shouted, "I'm not the same Naruto you know, I'm an alternate version from a different life. The Naruto from the life where you really did kill me."

"…what?" Sasuke spat, his eyes widening but not in surprise or confusion, but in anger.

"The tailed demons? They're actually gods, and all of their children are required to go through a certain number of lives before they can join their parents at home," Naruto rambled on, despite Sasuke's insistent '_dobe_', "and ya know what? I was on my last life, my _last_ one, and _you_ didn't like your role in it so you fucking slit your wrists at the doctors so you could just skip ahead of me! And _now_ we're in separate lives and I'm stuck here interrogating you for a second opinion on an argument that I've already moved on from!"

He breathed in deep to replace the oxygen he'd lost in his rant and he glared at Sasuke, "Are you happy now?!"

Sasuke was pushed back from the table in his chair, arms crossed over his chest gaping at him. "Okay, supposing you're _not_ crazy, and all of this is true, what part in this whole children of the gods thing do I have to play? Why am I going along with you to these different lives?"

"You're my mate; my grandfather tied our souls together at the ankles." Naruto glowered at the table, too crossing his arms over his own chest, "Since we're not perfectly happy with each other, my Dad's decided that we need some time apart from each other to 'figure things out'."

"And where am I, or, _your_ version of me?"

"I don't know, probably in some other life that my grandfather picked out to teach him a lesson. Since you're the most similar version of my Sasuke there is I'm supposed to find out what your take on what's happened is…I guess. The only thing that's happened differently here is that you and I both lived."

"Wait…so if you died, then why did I?"

Naruto was about to retort with something sarcastic when he realized he really didn't know. He knew that Sai had killed him, but that was it.

"I think…Sai might have killed you, but I don't know why, I never asked you."

"Hn," Sasuke grumbled.

"So why do you need a second opinion on this argument in the first place?"

"You got angry at me when I still didn't believe everything you said despite the fact that you'd basically yelled at me for hours. I mean, what's so wrong with me trusting you with everything but love? Seriously? I mean, Sasuke you don't really care about me do you?"

The look on this Sasuke's face was…strange. It wasn't pained, or confused, or angry. It was just…tense. Naruto relaxed into his chair and waited for an answer, though not really sure if he wanted one.

"Did your Sasuke say he cared?"

"No, he just said I was important to him and that it was always about me, he was doing all of this stuff for me, leaving Konoha to get strong enough to kill Itachi the fastest he could so he could come home and be with me and that still wasn't good enough and it was all my fault that things didn't go the way he expected them to cuz I just had to follow him and blah, blah, blah," Naruto grumbled, waving his hand in the air to elaborate his exasperation on the matter.

Sasuke's eyebrows rose incredulously, "Really?"

"Yeah, like I'm supposed to believe all that."

"Naruto…"

"Yeah Sasuke?"

"In your, er, version of your first life…before you died did you tell your Sasuke that you loved him?"

Naruto cringed as he felt his cheeks burn, "…yeah, like I told you, the only difference in our lives is that my Sasuke and I died and you and your Naruto didn't."

"Did you mean it?"

"Yeah, of course I did. I don't know why I bothered though, it's not like he cared really."

"…I cared."

Naruto wanted to laugh, but it was stuck in his throat as his eyes adhered themselves to Sasuke's face, which was not smirking, or cocky, but sincere.

"I was angry that you'd died, and that you'd say something like that and that you didn't hate me…it sounds idiotic, and it is, no doubt you've infected me with your stupidity…but, if your Sasuke and I are so similar, than that's what he was feeling when you died," Sasuke mumbled, "if, of course, any of this is real which it probably isn't. I have no idea why I let you go on like this…the doctors told me that I wasn't supposed to indulge your fantasies like this, that it…it isn't conducive to the recovery process."

Sasuke stood up, picked up his plate and scraped off the remains of his breakfast into the trashcan. Into the sink the dishes went, and he disappeared out of the kitchen and out the front door. Naruto barely noticed as the ANBU surveillance team abandoned the apartment's perimeters to follow Sasuke wherever he went. Naruto glared bitterly at the table. He was going to have some words with his father when he got home.

* * *

Sasuke discovered that the trick to doing potentially fatal, horrifying things that were ingrained in a memory he hadn't regained yet was to focus on figuring out something else. To avoid crashing himself and his siblings into something he concentrated with all his might on where the elementary school was. Where was it? Where was it? He had no idea. But he made it there anyways. When so preoccupied with something else, sure enough his body had accomplished the task automatically. He pulled into a parking space in front of brick building far smaller than the one in the picture Sasuke had used to help him figure out the school uniform. He turned the car off and pulled out the keys, slipping them into his pocket.

"It's okay Sasuke, I can get the note to my teacher and to Masu's, you don't have to come in with us," Suoh assured him.

"Really? You sure you don't need me to talk to them?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine-Masu, wait up!" Suoh exclaimed as he propelled himself out of the car and after their sister. The small girl with pigtails had skipped her way across the parking lot and towards the school.

As soon as Suoh had shut the door behind him and caught up with Masu, Sasuke put the keys back in the ignition and started the car again. Okay, high school, he could do this. He could be a civilian. They were perfectly fine, upstanding citizens and not to be looked down upon. After all, not everyone could be ninja. The world needed people to run the stores, and banks, and so on and so forth. They had their place in society, and that was fine. Sasuke just wasn't one of them.

Several minutes later he pulled up in front of his school and found a parking space. Absently he hung a parking permit on the rearview mirror before putting the car keys into his pocket and getting out of the car. He locked it, startling slightly at the sudden noise it made as all the doors locked. Okay…he had a schedule, and textbooks, and a locker. He _knew_ where his classes were. He did. Deep breaths. Treat it like a mission.

Sasuke hefted his school bag over his shoulders and strode towards the front doors with the other students. The interior of the building was clearly old, the paint chipped in places and the carpet was dingy and faded. Even the lighting showed signs of antiquity. What time was it? Didn't class start at eight-thirty? A shrill bell echoed throughout the halls and students all around him grumbled and either changed direction or started asking each other about homework. Sasuke removed his backpack from his shoulders and unzipped the largest section, in the hopes of finding his schedule and map of the building. Aha! Alright, what did he have first? Homeroom? What was the point of a 'homeroom'? What did he learn in that class?

Sasuke shook his head, it didn't matter. He had to be in room two-twenty and that was…where? It was on the second floor. He lifted his gaze from the paper and found a set of stairs straight ahead, he pushed his way through the crowds and up the stairs. Once he reached the second floor, according to his map he would need to take a right, and so he did, down the hall and then…_there_. The room to his left. He entered and wasn't sure where he should sit. There were no other students in the room yet, not even the teacher was there. He frowned and meandered in, choosing a seat near the windows on the left side of the classroom he sat himself down. Not too close to the front, not too close to the back. Sasuke inspected his schedule again and then his map, trying to figure out how he was going to make it to all of his classes on time. The distance between each was ridiculous, and apparently he didn't have all of his textbooks in his bag, some were in his locker, which was in the basement.

Some other students were entering the classroom now as another bell rang, but it didn't sound like the first. None of the people in the hall were hurrying; instead they were finally beginning to move. Each of the people that entered the room stared at him with interest but didn't move to approach him. They remained in their little groups, settling down into assigned seats or dropping their backpacks and continuing to stand around, talking. By the time another, more final sounding bell chimed all of the seats around him were filled and the man that he assumed was the teacher chose to grace them with his presence. Just as Sasuke was turning himself towards the front of the room so he could listen to the announcements he was prodded in the shoulder.

"Hey, dude, you're in my seat."

Sasuke apologized politely and gathered his things, moving out of the way so the person could take their seat. But when he actually got a proper look at the person he froze, his eyes widening. Naruto was slouched in his seat, elbows propped up on the desk. His face unmarred by whisker marks leant in one hand. Sky blue eyes drifted towards Sasuke, narrowed in confusion.

"What're you looking at, man?"

"Naruto?" Sasuke gaped, not thinking straight or else he definitely would have held that in.

"Dude…do I know you?"

"Mr. Uchiha is it?" a regal voice boomed from the front of the room.

"Yes?" Sasuke answered.

"I have a seat for you up front, if you would."

Sasuke gathered his things and awkwardly shuffled to the front where he sat down. He paid no attention as the teacher introduced him to the rest of the class as a new student, Sasuke Uchiha. His eyes were locked onto the Naruto of this world, who was staring out the window. But when his gaze wandered and happened to settle onto Sasuke, the blonde's eyebrows lifted incredulously, and his face donned idle frustration. Sasuke forced himself to stop staring and turn around.

**TBC…**


	24. Inked: Chapter 5

************

Fate's Garden

Part 3 - Inked

Chapter 5 - A Tall Glass Of Water

Naruto was sitting in the cramped living room of his apartment. He had been since Sasuke left earlier, and he'd been either napping or reading some old ninja scrolls of his. He was pondering going to the library and getting a book when Sasuke finally did come back. It was probably a good thing he didn't, that might be _too_ weird, for him to be willingly reading. For a reason he was likely soon to find out, this Sasuke was furious, he stormed into the apartment and slammed the door. He stood there, glaring openly at Naruto before he started pacing back and forth, attempting to glare a hole in everything.

Naruto propped his elbows up on his knees, resting his chin in his hands as he watched Sasuke move back and forth like a tennis ball at Wimbledon. Eventually his neck grew tired so instead he stared at the floor. It took a while but eventually Sasuke calmed down long enough to approach him, and kneel on the floor on the opposite side of the coffee table from him. He rested his elbows on the coffee table, folding one hand over the other and pressing it against the lower half of his face. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply for a few minutes. Then he sighed again and moved his hands away from his face.

"So…so…this whole thing with the past lives and…and the gods, it's true?" Sasuke asked, his voice strained, as if he couldn't believe what he was asking.

"Yes, it is."

"Is there any way other than the fact I can't seem to tell anyone about it, that you can prove this to me?"

"I don't believe so, other than me acting differently than your Naruto to an extent, I've lived far longer now."

"How old are you exactly?"

"I have lived through a total of four hundred and fifty two years now, collectively. But if you include my memories from the lives I've been through I have lived much longer. With each life I enter I gain the memories of that Naruto until I can remember his entire life."

Sasuke's eyes widened and his hands fell down onto the table with a weak thud. Naruto waited patiently for the information to sink in, it was a lot after all. He massaged his face and admired it's young pliant skin. When he was a fox he had the ability of glamours and illusions, so he could look young when he really wasn't, if he wanted. But he'd never been inclined to do so. Whenever he ventured to Konoha in his later years he would always assume the correct human form for the age he really was, which equated to around sixty-four in human years. The skin on his face was softer but in a different way than when he was a young todd. It also felt…very…strange to be talking to a Sasuke that hadn't experienced these lives with him. The most time he'd been without his Sasuke but with another version had been back in his second life, and that'd only been for barely a day. He was going to be stuck with this version for the rest of his time in this life.

"Could I…meet your father?" Sasuke asked finally as the shock wore off.

"Well..." Naruto tried to imagine how that might go over. As he created vivid scenarios in his father's voice rang not in his ears but in his mind. It was genial and warm.

"Son, try to find other ways to prove your divinity to him I can give you a god's power for twenty minutes but no longer, we are not allowed to reenter mortal realms in our fully realized form so I wouldn't really be able to achieve anything. I am proud of you for taking this life seriously and doing your best to reach an understanding."

"Thank you Dad," Naruto thought back, smiling at the praise.

"What?" Sasuke questioned Naruto's causeless smile, having not heard the internal discussion.

"Oh, nothing. He says he can't come to see you, so I'll just have to find another way to prove it to you. Let's see…a god's power huh?" Naruto chuckled.

Naruto reached out and touched Sasuke's forehead, imagining them standing on the hokage sculptures, specifically on the fourth's head. When he opened his eyes there they were, he removed his hand from Sasuke's forehead and watched as he stared in awe at his surroundings.

"Would you like another example?" Sasuke's eyes flew back to him, his clamped shut his face was ashen, and had confusion and disbelief written all over it.

"Naruto…just stop, take us back before the ANBU find out and report us to council," Sasuke demanded.

"Alright, I'll make it so they didn't even notice," Naruto assured him, taking him by the arm and returning them to the apartment.

They were standing in the apartment's tiny kitchen, Sasuke leant over the sink, face paling even further at the implications that what Naruto had told him was real. Naruto was standing quite complacently, popping his knuckles and heading back towards the couch. A few minutes or so later Sasuke joined him though he appeared far less angry than before and instead more somber.

"How long are you going to be here, Naruto?" Sasuke bit out.

"I don't know, probably until I learn the lesson I'm supposed to. I'm supposed to be able to 'completely get along' with my mate by the time this life is over, so however I'm supposed to accomplish that, I guess."

"What does your father mean by 'completely get along'?"

"I think I'm supposed to just give my heart away to Sasuke and trust him entirely, and I think my Dad wants me to understand his views on the situation too. It's weird, and dumb in my opinion. I don't see why I have to get along so great with Sasuke before we get home, I mean, it's not like we don't have the rest of eternity to work out our problems."

"Maybe it would make this easier if you showed me, from your perspective, what happened that night of your really important argument?" Sasuke suggested.

"Mm," Naruto grumbled, reaching forward a hand to place on Sasuke's forehead, willing him to see the events that transpired that night all those years ago.

At first Sasuke appeared baffled, and then tense, and then incredulous. The changing of expressions was especially entertaining, if not a bit confusing. When Sasuke finally spoke, it was not what Naruto was expecting.

"You are _such_ an idiot."

* * *

Sasuke loathed civilians; he hated them and their abhorrent school system. What a complete waste of time. He'd sat through the first several classes of the day and quickly realized that all of what he'd be learning was vaguely interesting but basically useless information from textbooks and adults who found themselves witty. That and he didn't see this world's Naruto again until he was told to head towards the cafeteria for lunch. Any attempts he made to try and talk to him in the hallways in between his classes were thwarted by the blonde avoiding him, so this time he was determined. Sasuke Uchiha was _not_ ignored, especially not by the dobe, _especially_ by a _civilian_ version of the dobe.

In order to fit in he stood in line, purchased an exorbitantly unhealthy meal and found Naruto sitting at a table by himself. The blonde was clearly scanning the lunch room for someone, probably a friend. Too bad, he was going to talk to him, whether he wanted to or not. Naruto saw him coming and his search of the cafeteria grew a bit more frantic but he didn't get up and leave. Sasuke supposed that was a good sign. He set his tray down on the table and sat down opposite his prey. Naruto sighed and his forehead fell into his hand.

"What do you want from me dude?"

"I want to talk to you."

"That's it? Do you know how weird that sounds?" Naruto questioned.

Sasuke opened his mouth to retort when he realized he didn't actually have an answer. He didn't stop to think about how odd it might be for him to show up in this school, somehow know this kid's name, and seem compelled to talk to him to the point of following him around all day. What else did he want? He just wanted to be with this Naruto so he had some strand of normality to cling to. No matter how different the circumstances, at his core, this Naruto was like his. Sasuke wanted to be friends with him, spend all of his time with him, and generally cling to him like a drowning man to a straw. Now how to relate that without sounding inherently creepier? _Act embarrassed maybe that'll make you more normal and less weird._

Sasuke allowed a faint tinge of pink to overtake his face and he mumbled, "Um….I do now…I didn't really think about it till now."

The air between them grew awkward and Naruto picked at his food while Sasuke continued to awkwardly stare at the table for the sake of his story.

_Come up with a crazy reason for why you wanted to talk to him…that'll draw in sympathy._

"I…I thought you were someone I knew but…he died a few months ago and….you just looked so similar I guess I forgot. He had moved away after all…" Sasuke trailed off bitterly, propping his hands up on the table as if he was about to push himself into a standing position.

"You know…it's…it's not that big of a deal, man, whatever…you're new to the school right? So you don't really know anyone yet?" Naruto relented with a slight stutter.

"Yeah, my family just moved here like a week ago, this is my first day," Sasuke answered, allowing himself to appear a bit more comfortable.

"Hey, what classes do you have?"

Sasuke reached into his bag and handed him his schedule which Naruto took, scanning it while idly chewing on his plastic fork. As Sasuke was planning on asking him something about why someone would want to put lockers in the basement of this forsaken place, he was interrupted quite rudely. A girl that was all make up, cleavage and anorexia stood next to their table. Behind her were a few other girls who were standing a few feet away and giggling while looking at them. Sasuke tried to ignore her, but Naruto wouldn't, he was eyeing her with recognition but no clear like or dislike.

"Hey, you're that new kid Sasuke, right?" the girl asked, smiling coyly at him.

"Yes, I am."

"You're cute, how bout you come sit with me and my friends?"

"No thanks, I'm fine here, though I've got a secret for you," Sasuke smirked at her in that way that made all the girls swoon in their first life, sure enough it worked.

"Really? What is it?"

"If you drink more water, your lunch will come back up easier when you go to the bathroom to purge around fifth period."

The nameless girl gawked at him and then stormed away in a huff. When Sasuke turned back to Naruto triumphantly he was rewarded with a grin. Maybe making friends with this Naruto wouldn't be too hard.

**TBC…**


	25. Inked: Chapter 6

************

Fate's Garden

Part 3 - Inked

Chapter 6 - Imagine It's Him

* * *

"So who were you looking for when I was cornering you?" Sasuke asked casually.

Naruto laughed at his wording, "My friend Tala, I was sure he wasn't skipping class today but he might have changed his mind last minute."

"Hey there buddy," a genial voice erupted from the crowds around them. The volume of his voice was monumental yet no one seemed to notice or care. Perhaps they were used to it, Sasuke barely restrained himself from massaging his ears.

A boy taller than both Sasuke and Naruto appeared on Naruto's side of the table. He set his tray down and pushed it aside, forgetting about it for the moment, straddling the bench so he could face Naruto. Sasuke didn't recognize this guy from their original life, granted he hadn't recognized that Yumi person either. So maybe this person existed in their world and he simply hadn't met him before? Sasuke swore he Suohld have at least seen him; he stuck out like a sore thumb.

_Tala_, Naruto's 'friend', had bright red hair, a narrow, shrewd face and blue eyes that glowed like flashlights. Well, they didn't really glow, necessarily, but they were unreasonably bright, just like his hair. And his skin was so pale it made Sasuke's skin look healthy. For some reason, most redheads that Sasuke ran into had just the slightest tone of pink to their skin, on their Suohlders, their cheeks, nose, etc. But this boy didn't even have freckles. It was odd. Granted the school uniform made everyone look like they were dressed for Halloween but the redhead opposite him looked like he was _born_ on Halloween.

"Yeah, I can see what you mean about the staring thing, kinda creepy, but I think he means well," Tala told Naruto conversationally, chin resting in his palm as he looked Sasuke over.

Sasuke felt truly affronted then, he hadn't noticed he was staring, "Sorry…"

"Eh, whatever, man, it's cool, doesn't he have class with us next?"

"Yeah, but looks like he needs to stop by his locker in the dungeons before class."

"Dude, someone in administration must really not like him," Tala muttered, inspecting Sasuke's schedule, "Oro-chan certainly hates him, it's decided."

"…Oro-chan?"

"Eh, his real name's Orochimaru, but who wants to call that asshole of a principal by anything remotely dignified?" Tala elaborated.

Sasuke was sure if he wasn't such a good actor he wouldn't have been able to hold in the horrified look that was just begging to be let onto the surface. Instead he snorted sarcastically and asked for his schedule back. It was handed over easily and Sasuke stuffed it into his bag.

"So, Sasuke," Naruto started, "what're you doing after school today? You've only been in town for a week; we might as well show you around town, right Tala?"

"Um, I have to pick up my little brother and sister from school and drop them off at home…but after that I think I can go with you guys," Sasuke relented.

"Ah, lame," Naruto retorted, "you've got younger siblings? I'm lucky I guess, I don't have any brothers or sisters."

"Eh, I guess I have it good too, I have older brothers sure, but they're all already moved out and have their own families and stuff, I might as well be an only child." Tala joked.

"Except on holidays, dude, your house is crazy…" Naruto shook his head.

"Well what're ya gonna do, huh? I have five older brothers, all married, and three of them have kids already. One with three kids, one with two, and one with four, and did I tell you Bryan's wife is pregnant?"

"Ugh, so many people in one house…" Naruto massaged his forehead as though he were experiencing a migraine. Sasuke guessed the memory might have actually brought one on.

"And they _all_ come home for Christmas, and birthdays, and thanksgiving. You realize they all live like…a neighborhood away from my mom and dad?"

"What? I thought they all went off to college in different ends of the country!"

"Yeah, I know, but they all came back here to spawn, like salmon," Tala exclaimed, arms wide.

"That…is ridiculous," Sasuke chimed in, eyebrow arched, "but it makes sense. You ever notice people tend to do that? They all want to raise their kids where they were raised, even if they're not in touch with their parents anymore."

"Yeah, it's how there's like generations upon generations of certain families around here…"

"Just wait, one out of every four of us salmon break the trend and stay away from home forever," Naruto laughed.

"I know how you are, wild child," Tala put Naruto in a teasing headlock, rubbing his head with his knuckles.

Naruto playfully squirmed out of his grip and nodded, "That's me!"

* * *

It was amazing, Sasuke supposed, how well the three of them got along. There were the moments of course where Tala and Naruto would talk about something with each other that were clearly the conversation of best friends. Sasuke found out they lived down the road from each other and had since they were three. Now the two of them at the ripe age of seventeen were still best friends. But of course, Tala was extremely cooperative and would always find a way to lasso Sasuke back into the conversation. It was sort of…nice, to have that unassuming buffer between them. It also helped a great deal that this Naruto didn't have any sort of deep seated resentment against him. It was a fresh slate. This Naruto knew nothing about him, and liked him, and that was that.

But, at the same time, the fresh slate was the problem also. Most shit that Sasuke pulled, his Naruto put up with. Like his extreme asshole-ish tendencies, and his emotionally stunted views on physical affection, or affection in general. That got him in trouble a lot. Sasuke found himself having to try harder to please this Naruto than he had to in order to please his own. It was strange, because while his Naruto didn't have anyone else to run to, and was undoubtedly tied to him no matter what, this Naruto wasn't.

So, for instance if Sasuke was being a jerk, Naruto would call him a bastard and leave, go do his homework, or go hang out with Tala. Sasuke would wait it out, he would _try_ anyways. He would wait for probably no more than a few days before he would go crawling back, more pathetic than he'd ever been in all of his lives, and apologize to the guy. Naruto would of course smirk at him as if he'd merely been waiting for Sasuke to cave, and then accept his apology. Then everything would go back to normal. It was very…humbling.

As the months went by, Sasuke felt himself settling down, and easing into civilian life. School was easy, his relationship with Naruto and Tala was…tricky, and his family life was strange. Sasuke had never had younger siblings before, he'd always been the youngest. He wasn't nearly as prepared for the protective feelings he got when babysitting Suoh and Masumi as he probably Suohld have been.

He was scheduled for babysitting duty on the day things changed in his 'learning' life. The three of them, the three musketeers, were standing together just outside of the school, in the junior parking lot. They were conversing over plans to hang out that afternoon. Sasuke had informed them his hanging out was limited to them coming to his house; he had to watch the rug-rats. Naruto was free for anything; his parents were out of town on yet another frivolous vacation (they seemed to take a lot of those).

"Well, what about you Tala?"

"Nah, man, family meeting of sorts, Bryan's wife went into labor this morning. I'm supposed to head straight over to the hospital. The whole clan has assembled, ya know?"

Naruto shook his head, "Alright, say hi to the fam for me, would ya? Make sure to call me when the baby's healthy and happy and not crying anymore, k?"

"Will do, you two have fun babysitting!" Tala pulled the two of them close to him, his arms wrapped around their necks before relinquishing his hold and heading for his car.

"Please tell me we're not really babysitting?"

"We are, but don't worry, the kids like you, remember?" Sasuke informed him, making his way to the minivan, Naruto in tow.

Naruto was the odd one out on terms of driving. He had a license and all, his parents just refused to buy him a car, or let him drive one of theirs. Instead they made him ride the bus to and from school. He climbed into the passenger seat while Sasuke heaved into the driver's side. Sasuke had a few months back auto-pilot'd his way to an empty parking lot one night and taught himself how to drive. He realized this was not only necessary, but the best course of action. He couldn't rely on his memories driving for him, and having to constantly distract himself while driving to be able to. It just wasn't a good idea. That and it bothered his mother immensely when he would eat, talk on his cell phone, or talk to her while going down the freeway at sixty miles per hour.

As they pulled onto the main drag and headed away from the school and through town Naruto started up an easy conversation. Talking mostly about school work, a project they had in biology and history class. They chatted about Tala's crazy family, which Sasuke had the horrible experience of meeting one day a few weeks after they'd all become friends. He understood thoroughly just what Naruto had meant by crazy on his first day of school. But then, as they were nearing Suoh and Masumi's elementary school, the chatter took a turn that Sasuke wasn't sure how to handle.

"So…I know it's probably not easy but…I figure you _need_ to talk about it…" Naruto started uncertainly, "…could you tell me about him maybe?"

"Who?" Sasuke asked shakily though he knew very well 'who' Naruto was referring to.

"The guy you mistook me for on your first day of school, you know, dead guy?" Naruto was blunt and chuckled a little, trying to make this topic less sensitive and girly by saying something hurtful.

"What about him do you want to know?" Sasuke's voice was stiff, hoping to convey his unease about the subject and get Naruto to drop it.

Sasuke wasn't pained, talking about his Naruto. He knew he was fine and he would be seeing him eventually. Mostly he was uncertain what sorts of things about him he Suohld tell this Naruto.

"What was he like? Were you guys like the best of friends, like Tala and I?"

Sasuke pulled into a parking space in front of the elementary school and turned off the car. He watched the two small shapes of Masumi and Suoh walk across the school yard towards the parking lot upon spotting the minivan. He couldn't see the harm in being honest; it wasn't like this Naruto would know that Sasuke was talking about another version of him. What kind of embarrassment awaited him? None.

"He…was a lot like you," Sasuke smirked, "but we knew each other longer than you've known me, but not as long as you and Tala knew each other."

Naruto nodded.

"So, he put up with my jerk tendencies more, but on the flip side he…he didn't really trust my word on our friendship." Sasuke explained, "I could rip my heart out and hand it to him and I don't think he would believe I was sincere, he would think I was manipulating him for sport, or something."

"Why would he think that?" Naruto questioned incredulously, "You're an asshole sure, but you're not the type of guy to hang out with someone he didn't want to. I figured if you hated me you'd go find someone else."

Sasuke chuckled at the logic this Naruto used. It was perfect, of course, and it was the truth. But it was the truth that his Naruto probably would never believe.

"I sort of…walked away from him; I guess is the best way to put it. There was something I needed to do, and I needed to do it on my own. But some of the things I said…he took them too seriously and thought I was betraying him, so he came after me and followed me incessantly, trying to get me to come back."

"What sorts of things did you say?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke was about to answer him when he heard Suoh demanding him to unlock the door. He flipped the switch that automatically unlocked all the doors, and Suoh climbed in, shortly followed by his younger sister. He made sure they buckled themselves in before turning the car back on.

"How was your day, guys?" Sasuke inquired, letting the smallest of smiles show on his face.

"Dumb, I had a math test," Suoh answered.

"Did you do well on it?"

"I don't know, Miss Taylor is grading them tonight when she gets home, she says."

"Hmm, I'm sure you did fine."

"What about you Masu?" Naruto chimed in, turning around in his seat to smile at the two.

"Hi Naruto!" She chirped, "I had a good day, Miss Rizzoe let us have an all day long art day!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, and, and I made this…"

Sasuke had backed out of the parking space and exited the lot by the time he saw his little sister rifling around in her back pack through the rearview mirror. Her hair was in a ponytail instead of pigtails like usual. She'd gotten a haircut on Monday, so now she had bangs that framed her cute little face. She'd worn her hair like that specifically to show off her new haircut. Sasuke would know, she'd told him quite eagerly that morning while he was still half-asleep and driving them to school.

Currently she was showing Naruto a picture she'd made with crayons, paints, and macaroni noodles. It was an adorable mess, and Masu was sure proud of it. Naruto talked more with her about it on the way home. When they pulled into the driveway both kids leapt out of the car as soon as the engine turned off. Naruto chuckled at their exuberance as they rushed to the front door, bouncing up and down, waiting for Sasuke to come unlock the door with his house key. Sasuke locked the car and followed the munchkins, letting them inside, barely reminding them to take off their shoes and not run in the house.

"Okaaaay!" Masu answered his reprimand, "Sasukeeeee, can we have some ice cream?"

"No, Masu, it'll ruin your appetite for dinner. Maybe later tonight," Sasuke called back.

"Awwwww, pleeeease?"

"No!"

Naruto laughed and Sasuke scowled. It was only endearing to Naruto because they weren't _his_ little brother and sister. He hung the car keys up on the key hooks and shucked off his shoes in the entry way.

"Suoh, keep an eye on your sister, Naruto and I are going up to my room."

There was no answer for a few minutes, and as Sasuke went into the kitchen he found Masu up on the counter, mimicking Sasuke's movements from the previous life, trying to get into the freezer. Rolling his eyes he plucked her off the counter and set her on the floor. He looked around and found Suoh in the living room watching cartoons.

"_Suoh_-"

"…I'll keep an eye on her, okay?" Suoh huffed, rolling his eyes at Sasuke.

Sasuke glared at him, "Watching her means making sure she isn't trying to get ice cream out of the freezer by climbing all over the kitchen like a monkey."

"Okay! Gosh! _Masuuuuu_!" Suoh Suohted, stomping his way into the kitchen.

Sasuke groaned and stormed through the kitchen and up the stairs, forgetting Naruto's presence entirely. Once in his room he chucked his backpack onto the floor and immediately began peeling off his suit jacket and vest. He'd been so absentminded he almost hit Naruto in the face with his bedroom door, and then he'd thrown his jacket on his head.

"Dude, calm down," Naruto told him, throwing the jacket that'd hit him towards the computer desk. He shut the bedroom door at a more reasonable volume.

"They're just so…so…"

"Annoying? They're little kids, it's what they do," Naruto intoned bluntly.

Sasuke yanked his tie off, tossing it to the floor and slumping down onto his bed. Naruto had somehow managed to take off his vest, suit jacket and tie without throwing a tantrum, and joined him on the bed. He sat on the edge, facing the door while Sasuke had fallen back to rest his head on the pillow, spread eagle. Already he could feel the dregs of his anger leaving him. This Naruto was always good at calming him down. He would cut his anger to the quick and make him realize he was acting stupid with only a few words.

"So, you didn't get to answer my question earlier thanks to the brats getting into the car."

"What question?" Sasuke had truly already forgotten.

"What kind of things did you say to dead guy?"

"I…I told him that I needed to cut my ties or else I wouldn't be strong enough to do what I had to do."

"And then you left…?" Naruto was gaping at him, this wasn't a good sign.

"…er, yeah."

"You're sure that we're a lot alike, right?"

"Yeah, your personalities are almost identical…why?"

"Well, er, Sasuke," Naruto turned around on the bed to face him, "you know how you said that dead guy took your words more seriously than I do?"

"Yeah."

"I don't ignore your words completely I just figure it's you being an asshole. Words aren't everything, sure, but they do matter at least a little," Naruto shrugged, "I…I can't even imagine what I'd do if Tala said something like that to me. No wonder he thought you'd betrayed him! That was a pretty shitty thing to say, you know!"

"But I didn't mean it, I was just trying to get him to leave me alone so I could leave! I was going to come back to him."

"So why didn't you tell him that?" Naruto said exasperatedly.

"He would have tried to come with me and help anyways."

"So…? What's the harm in having someone help you? Just because you're so perfect doesn't mean you can't accept help every once in a while, even when you don't need it."

"What would be the point of accepting help I don't need, huh?"

"Because most likely it's the person offering the help that needs it, and it's a good way to help _them_ without being too obvious. Sometimes the people that are always helping are the ones that need help the most."

Sasuke glared at Naruto for a moment until it dawned on him what he was saying. Naruto knew that Sasuke could have handled it on his own just fine, Naruto couldn't handle Sasuke not needing him, so he just wanted to be with him. Even if he wasn't needed. Sasuke sighed and avoided Naruto's gaze, instead staring at his closet door.

"…how'd he die?"

Sasuke froze. _I stabbed him in the chest, that's how,_ he thought. The death itself, Sasuke knew he would never really get over. He could still feel the terrible shock that had coursed through him that very moment Naruto hadn't dodged and he could feel him go limp in his arms. He heard Naruto apologizing, telling him he was sorry he couldn't save him, telling him…that he loved him.

"When he followed me…something, we, well…death was staring him in the face, and he could have leapt out of the way and he chose not to," Sasuke muttered, "it was my fault. He had finally given up on me."

"Wait…so…if that's how he died then how could you have issues with him after all of this happened?" Naruto asked dumbly.

Sasuke thought fast, "We'd had encounters before that remember. Every once in a while when he caught up to me it felt…almost like old times…."

"Ah, okay, had me confused there for a minute." Naruto laughed nervously.

"Yeah…"

After that silence poured into the gap left by the conversation that had abandoned them and ambled out of the room. It was obvious the discussion was over, and there wasn't really anything else to talk about to cover up the fact that they weren't talking. Naruto crawled back onto the bed and flopped down on his back next to Sasuke. Together like that on the small twin bed had them pressed shoulder to shoulder.

Though they'd never been overly affectionate with each other over the few lives they'd lived, his Naruto and he hadn't been necessarily shy about it. In their second life they would frequently take naps together, after of course Sasuke had swallowed his pride and admitted he liked it. In the fox life, for the first year when they still talked to each other there was frequent grooming sessions. But here, in this life, with this Naruto it was different. This Naruto was the stereotypical high school male. Straight as a ruler and shy about showing physical tenderness at all towards another guy, unless it was Tala, and those were _very_ manly hugs, in private. At that moment, if it had been his Naruto, Sasuke would probably already be wrapped up in strong arms and cuddled. He would grumble and protest for a few 

minutes to keep up the act that he didn't like it. Mostly the act was kept up for Sasuke's sake seeing as Naruto knew it was an act and didn't care.

In fact, that Naruto was this close to him, on a _bed_ (how risqué) no less, was truly a show of friendship for him. If he wanted a hug, per se, not that he did right now of course, that was just an example, really, it was clear that Sasuke would have to initiate it. Sasuke had never been very good at barreling through awkward situations, that was Naruto's forte, or rather, _his_ Naruto's forte. But since this wasn't his Naruto for the moment he would have to try and do it himself.

Sasuke was so focused on figuring out how he could cause such a hug to happen when Naruto actually took the first step. Stretching, Naruto threw his arms up and then crossed them behind his head. But the bed really wasn't big enough for him to do this without falling off or nudging Sasuke a bit. Sasuke lifted his head and rested it on Naruto's arm. Slowly, from there, he pulled Naruto closer towards him and looped his arms around Naruto's neck. An arm slipped under his side and around his waist. Now that they were more in the center and more comfortably arranged the bed seemed huge. Sasuke belatedly threw a leg over Naruto, aligning the top of his thigh with Naruto's belt. There, that hadn't been so hard, had it?

This…just this, Sasuke realized he hadn't been with Naruto like this in so long he'd almost forgotten how much he liked it. Now he was content, this was all he'd wanted. But as he went to press his face into Naruto's neck, his friend's face dipped down at just the right time to press their lips together. Sasuke tensed. He…he…wait, what? He pulled back sharply, but he didn't remove himself from Naruto's arms, and the blond didn't seem bothered.

"…Sasuke, I know that you're just using me to remind you of him, and I know he wasn't just your friend. I…I know it probably isn't good for me to be okay with this but, I really, _really_ like you, and…if I have to settle for being a substitute for someone else, fine." There was a note of bitterness and acceptance in Naruto's voice that Sasuke didn't like, "I'm feeling terrible enough as it is…I mean…I've never liked a guy before or anything so…if you have to imagine him instead of me I won't…I won't…"

"I won't have to, and I don't want to," Sasuke told him.

Naruto smiled shakily, "A-are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Sasuke leant forward, and kissed him.

**TBC…**


	26. Inked: Chapter 7

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Fate's Garden

Part 3 - Inked

Chapter 7 - All the worlds

* * *

"…what?"

"You…are…an…idiot," Sasuke ground out, his face contorted into a scowl.

Naruto sighed, maybe showing him the argument wasn't a good idea. Now he couldn't be objective about it, could he? He'd probably just ruined his chances of getting his 'second opinion' not that he really wanted it in the first place.

"What more do you want?!" Sasuke shouted, his voice slicing through the air and causing Naruto to jump a little in his seat.

"What do you mean…?" he replied tentatively.

"What more can he say? What more can he do?"

"Um…I don't…" Naruto shrank back into the couch a little at Sasuke's rage.

Sasuke leapt to his feet and paced the length of the room. Naruto watched on fearfully. It felt like Sasuke had dragged him into the ninja academy naked and pointed it out to everyone. He felt exposed and stupid and embarrassed. Those were feelings he was accustomed to in childhood, sure, but he'd outgrown them and learned to ignore them. He became smarter, more confident, and more secure with himself. But Sasuke, in all his glory, had yanked the rug out from under him and smacked him in the face with reality. In fact, he wasn't even sure where Sasuke was going with this, but already Naruto felt horrible and defensive.

"Do you want him to go back in time and magically _not_ fuck up? Is that it?" Sasuke demanded, "Because that's not going to happen!"

"You keep going on about trust and how he's tricking you and all this shit, what could he possibly gain by tricking you at this point? The lives you're in mean nothing, seeing as you're going to end up in this eternal garden or whatever it is!" Sasuke had never been as ineloquent before as he was now.

"Don't you think that if he didn't care that maybe he wouldn't try so hard to make you happy?!"

Finally Naruto snapped to his senses, having been lulled into a stupor by Sasuke's indignant shouting.

"Alright, alright! Fine, just give me a second to breathe! Jeez!"

Naruto's head fell numbly into his hands, his fingers tangling in his hair. Hate wasn't the opposite of love, apathy was. If Sasuke truly didn't care, as he said, he wouldn't try at all. What would be the point of tricking him? Really? Naruto had been so certain he was, he was hell-bent on believing it was all a ruse; that his one wish really couldn't come true that he had created for himself this elaborate scheme that didn't even exist. He couldn't just accept that maybe things were okay. It all seemed to good to be true…but Sasuke had never really been one to go to such lengths to manipulate people anyways. He was always more for the subtle mind-raping than not. He _was_ an idiot.

"Don't think too hard, your mind might overheat," Sasuke snapped.

"God damnit, teme! I'm sorry alright?!"

Naruto's head lifted out of his hands to stare at Sasuke, scowling. Without thinking he cried, "Ya know what, I'm not sorry! I don't have to apologize to _you_, you're not _my_ Sasuke!"

Naruto didn't realize how terrible that sounded until he noticed the look on Sasuke's face. His eyes were wide and his jaw trembled. Naruto opened his mouth and then closed it. Not really sure what to say. He should apologize for _that_.

"Sasuke I'm-"

"Fuck _you_," Sasuke disappeared down the hall into Naruto's bedroom, judging by the slam of that door.

Naruto sat there, prepared to wallow in self-pity. But then, a moment later he decided he wasn't going to. He was going to fix this; he was going to 'learn' as his father told him. Sasuke wasn't going to stay mad at him. Naruto pushed himself up off of the couch and strode purposefully down the hallway. He threw the door open so hard that the doorknob embedded into the wall with a loud crunching of wood. Sasuke glared at him from where he'd been pacing in the center of the small room. Naruto moved towards him, causing Sasuke to back away, shuffle to the side, and weave and dodge away from him. Finally Naruto growled and used what little ounce of his god powers he had left to force Sasuke into his arms how kicked and struggled against him.

"You're not _my_ Naruto either, and unlike you, I don't get mine back, so f-fuck _you_, you and your Sasuke, for taking away from me…for…" Naruto stopped as he realized the horrible truth of what this Sasuke was saying.

As soon as Sasuke and he reached the garden, this version would cease to exist. Just like how by being there, Naruto had erased this world's version from existence. When he died, this Sasuke would be alone. This Sasuke that was so much like his, almost exactly the same, would be all alone and probably killed within the month with no one left to stand up for him. Naruto's hold on Sasuke didn't loosen, he wasn't about to let him go, but it did soften, just a little.

"I'm sorry," Naruto murmured, pressing his face against Sasuke's neck.

"Is that to me, or _him_?"

"Mm, you," Naruto pulled away just enough to slid his lips on top of Sasuke's.

At first Sasuke tensed, but then he melted so completely he was almost deadweight in Naruto's arms. He pressed himself closer and wrapped his arms around Naruto's neck, quivering like a leaf in the wind. Their kisses conflicted in tone; Sasuke's were desperate, hungry, and filled with heartache. Naruto's were comforting and forgiving. While Sasuke clung to him, shaking, Naruto held him loosely, rubbing circles up and down his back.

Sasuke kissed him again and again before moving away, looking anywhere but Naruto's face, "How…how long do you have before you leave?"

"I don't know, it's not my decision."

"It's your father's?"

"My grandfather's, actually," Naruto chuckled.

"Who's your grandfather, if your father's god?" Sasuke laughed, he couldn't help it.

"I don't…really know, actually," Naruto answered, feeling silly, "I think…wait…"

Sasuke leaned away from him, arching his back as he laughed out loud. It wasn't even a mocking laugh, or a smirking 'I win' laugh. Naruto tried to cherish it, he did, but he was suddenly confused. Who was his grandfather exactly? The little old man that tottered around, with nine gods for children, what exactly was he? Was he the ultimate god then? The creator of the universe and so on?

"Whatever, it's not important, what do you want to do with your time left here?"

"Hmm, now that you mention it," Naruto tried to force his thoughts away from his grandfather and onto the man in his arms. He leered, a smirk overtaking his face.

Hardly batting an eye Naruto stooped down and jerked Sasuke up and over his shoulder. The avenger growled at him, _Naruto, put me down_. Of course, he only protested for so long, after Naruto had thrown him down onto the bed and clambered on top of him, he simply smirked and kissed him.

* * *

Sasuke was certainly enjoying himself. This whole 'learning' life was shaping up to be pretty worthwhile. School wasn't…_that_ bad. It was even interesting sometimes, the things they learned. In the science classes especially Sasuke was intrigued. All of the chemical reactions were things that he would never have had to learn as a ninja, the experiments they did were always mind boggling as to why they would do them of course. But that didn't keep him from being at least the slightest bit entertained.

Then again, this all could just be a side effect of him having a boyfriend. He was seeing through rose-colored glasses, he was sure of it. Sasuke had never been this happy before. Ever since that day of their awkwardly amazing make-out, they'd settled into a sort of dating, not dating arrangement. Tala somehow had known without them even telling him. Sasuke had thought they weren't being obvious at all, seeing as they weren't doing couple-ish things or hanging out frequently by themselves. He'd just known, the day after they'd kissed. But, it was Tala, so Sasuke just put it off to him knowing his best friend so well. His Naruto knew him that well. It was downright creepy sometimes.

Their relationship remained relatively the same, disregarding those afternoons where Naruto would decide they should hang out and take away Sasuke's ability to walk right for a few days. Other than that and the gruff kisses, there were no outward signs of them 'dating'. Sasuke knew that even if he actually wanted to show affection in public, that Naruto would be strictly against it. He was strangely cautious towards the notion, in fact, Sasuke was sure that this Naruto was straight and this was a fluke. Wherever they were, whatever realm, universe, or timeline, they always seemed to end up together, despite whatever circumstances. Sasuke was sure that if he'd stayed in that life where he'd been a toddler, if he'd grown up, he would have miraculously turned Naruto into a pedophile. Sasuke found this all both disturbing and incredibly…heartwarming. Their relationship was so strong that it spanned across all of the worlds in existence.

**TBC...**


	27. Inked: Chapter 8

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**A/n:** Alrighty then. I had a load of fun with this chapter, congrats to all of you that saw this coming. Because that means you're observant. Anyways...so, yes, I know Naruto's perspective wasn't featured in this chapter despite it being the last of part 3. But there's going to be a part 3.5 so no worries. I'm actually looking forward to writing the next chapter now. I feel totally relaxed. I hope you enjoy. Thanks for all the kind words.

**#&#&#&#&#&#&#&#&#&#&**

* * *

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Fate's Garden

Part 3 - Inked

Chapter 8 - Influence

* * *

Sasuke cringed, biting his lip as his eyes watered. The orgasm had faded, leaving him with nothing but a familiar agony in his backside. His knees wobbled until finally they could no longer support him and he collapsed onto the bed, his face in the pillow. Naruto, equally as exhausted behind him, but with the luxury of moving without pain, moved away from him and off of the bed. Sasuke listened as his boyfriend dug through the dirty laundry hamper, probably for a towel to wrap around his waist.

"Be back in a bit, going to shower," his gruff voice explained as the door opened and closed.

Sasuke mentally cursed him for being able to walk. He got to go shower immediately after while Sasuke lay in bed, stewing in the stuffy room that smelled like sweat and sex. Naturally a delightful smell, but time made it unpleasant, aiding it to settle onto Sasuke's skin, making it crawl and writhe. Oh how he longed to shower. But even if he could bring himself to get off of the bed and follow Naruto to the shower down the hall he would be near his boyfriend again. Surely this would defeat the purpose of being in the bathroom in the first place. By the time Naruto would be strutting confidently back down the hallway Sasuke would be slumped over on the shower floor, and would remain there for hours. He couldn't afford to be found like that by his parents. Who knows what they'd say.

Speaking of his parents, Sasuke was finding it more and more difficult to ignore his mother's wellbeing. He'd tried to avoid getting attached to his family in this life. Sasuke knew he was moving on and he wasn't going to allow himself to become too close to an entire family…well….getting close to this Naruto wasn't too much of a problem, really, because he'd be seeing his own Naruto soon enough. Sasuke had inadvertently come to love his younger siblings, despite his best intentions to not to. Suoh and Masu were just…he couldn't really explain himself. Babysitting was annoying, yes, but some nights when Masu would knock on his door saying she had a nightmare, he couldn't turn her away. She would clamber into his bed and snuggled against his chest, tickling him with that head full of adorable black hair. Suoh was more like a loveable annoyance, sort of like Naruto, and reminded Sasuke of their relationship when it was more brotherly than not. He tried his best to keep an eye on him, and give him the attention that his parents never seemed to allow him.

But…his parents Sasuke had so far not had any trouble avoiding and disliking. His father, he discovered, was at his core a good person. The business world had created in him the insensitive work ethic necessary for one to keep moving at such a fast pace in such a world. He worked late, came home later, and ignored his children. Sasuke was fine with being ignored, but he knew his brother and sister weren't. His otherwise harmless introvert personality had gone into overdrive, and instead of being reserved, calm, and mellow he was snide, manipulative, passive aggressive. He treated his wife like garbage.

Worst of all was his mother's condition. The very first day in this life, Sasuke had seen his father throw his mother into the car for a doctor's appointment. She had looked horrible, as though she would keel over dead at any moment. Sasuke's impression of her had been accurate. She had an unidentified auto-immune disorder, and had for at least a year. It wore away her body's defenses against things such as the common cold, or the flu. She'd caught the flu only a week or so before Sasuke had arrived in this life, and she still had it. The auto-immune disorder made it difficult for her body to actually absorb the 

necessary rest from any sleep she got, even REM sleep. She was always tired, and due to the flu she'd had for over half a year now, she'd lost more body weight than any person should. No matter what she ate it would always come back up within the hour. Her fever never seemed to break, so she was always sweating, too hot one minute, and too cold the next. A terrible infection of the skin in her eyelids, and around her eyes was so far past any hope of being cured she was scheduled to have her eyes removed a week from now so the infection wouldn't go anywhere else in her body. For about a month now, Sasuke's father had been speaking with lawyers and doctors all over town and the outlying cities about 'pulling the plug'. She was so out of it that her ability to walk and answer people at all was the only thing keeping her from being medically declared catatonic. Soon she would be moved to the hospital for the surgery, though debate was still raging between the doctors and the lawyers about whether they should even undergo the extremely expensive surgery on a woman that was being considered for termination anyways.

Sasuke didn't want to have an opinion on the matter. He hardly saw his mother anyways; she stayed in her room, attended to by a hire-out nurse his father had acquired a few months ago. Suoh was old enough now to have a slight grasp on what was going on but Masu was still clueless. The two of them were going to lose their mother very soon, more than likely their older brother as well. Then all that was left for them was a father that didn't care. Sasuke had no doubts that his father would give them up to the state. What kind of life was that? How could he just abandon his little brother and sister and move on? It was terrible to think, but he knew that this life, just as the others, did not matter in the grand scheme of things. He had to let go. But who cared about this 'grand scheme'? Sasuke didn't. He wanted to stay here; at least long enough to make sure Masu and Suoh had a proper life. Or, as good of one as he could manage. He was already considering what sort of career he'd have after high school and how he could take care of his siblings, win custody of them from his father. He probably wouldn't even have to go to court, he could just ask and they'd be handed over.

Still…even as images of moving into a house with Naruto, and Masu and Suoh flooded his mind he tried to force himself to ignore it. There was no chance he was staying here that long. He could feel it already, he wasn't sure how, but he could feel his death was nearly upon him. Sasuke wished he could warn this Naruto, soon he would be leaving, but he couldn't. He wouldn't know. He sighed, pressing his face deep into his pillow. It really just wasn't fair.

His pillow disappeared from his arms and he found himself standing, painless, and clothed in the grandfather's living room. The room was empty, and Sasuke wondered why exactly he was there. Was he there for a checkup? To see how he was doing in his remedial life for fuck ups that don't listen? Sasuke had the impression that gods were all knowing, omnipotent, so wouldn't they know how he was doing? He grumbled, making his way to one of the couches to relax until either someone entered the room to speak to him, or he returned to his life.

Sasuke decided that, though it was painful to leave his current life behind, and it was torture thinking of the unfairness of the life Masu and Suoh would endure…he was ready. He was ready to move on and meet back up with the dobe. This Naruto had given him a different understanding, and though he was certain he wasn't in the wrong nearly as much as dobe, he could admit that it was a little bit his fault. He was the defector, the one who'd gone and left Konoha to join up with Orochimaru. But Naruto had put him through a few extra lives of suffering, and technically it was his fault in the first place that Sasuke was a part of this whole god thing. Naruto was the god child, and Sasuke was his mate. Technically Sasuke wasn't even supposed to be joining him in the garden. Now he was, he was again the one to stand out. The only mortal mate out of any of the past gods' mates to join the odd family in the garden was him.

"So, Sasuke, how've you been?" a familiar voice called, a voice that Sasuke was baffled to hear.

"Tala?" Sasuke's head flew up off of the pillow he'd rested it on, having curled up on a couch, to see the amiable red head striding towards him.

"You appear so flabbergasted, my doom and gloom friend, I expected you would have figured things out by now," Tala quirked his lips into an almost pout, effortlessly pulling an armchair towards the couch Sasuke was lounging on.

"I'm…wait…I…I don't understand, what are you doing here?"

Tala crashed easily into his chosen chair, facing Sasuke. He perched his elbows on his knees, folding his hands and resting his chin upon them. His eyes were sparkling merrily, a smirk on his face that Sasuke was accustomed to seeing on his friend. But he wasn't used to seeing him _here_. He didn't understand at all. Then, seeing his confusion, Tala sighed. All of a sudden he morphed, the air around him blurring and shimmering like an imaginary oasis on a desert sand dune. No longer was his friend sitting before him, but instead was the grandfather, the tottering old man he knew, and yet quite apparently, didn't know.

"I…what…what was that?!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"Little one, haven't you wondered just exactly _who_ I am?"

"Of course I have."

"And all this time you have yet to arrive at an answer, though I understand you've been thoroughly…distracted," the grandfather smiled in an innocent manner, but his choice of words had Sasuke flushing in embarrassment.

"Who are you then?"

"Fate."

Sasuke gaped at the old man for more than just a moment, he was sure. Now that he'd come out and said it, Sasuke was amazed he hadn't thought of it before. The tying of souls, his seemingly distracted appearance…the…there were so many things about him that made sense. Was the grandfather even a grand_father_? Or was that simply the form he chose around his family? He had assumed the role of Tala in Sasuke's current life.

"Are you…are you in every life that we've been in?" Sasuke asked.

"Of course, I attend to every world in existence, a nice perk, omnipresence, don't you think little one?" Fate smiled warmly.

"Who were you in our very first life, before we knew about any of this?"

Sasuke was really curious now. He should have seen it coming that it would have been Tala in his current life. But the others he couldn't even imagine who they might have been. It was likely that he'd never encountered him in those lives. But then, instead of simply telling him, Fate transformed to show him who he had been, and still was in that life. Sasuke was rooted to the spot, he felt as if he'd had a bucket of ice water dumped over him.

Itachi smiled warmly at him like he had when Sasuke was very little, "Hello little brother."

"No, no, no, no…" Sasuke's mind went blank, but his mouth kept moving, repeating the word over and over, desperate to get away from the image that had tormented him so long. But Fate would not relieve him of this agony, and instead waited.

Eventually Sasuke couldn't take it anymore and leapt off of the couch and ran from the room, not sure what he was doing. He stalked about the kitchen, which was becoming less and less oversized for him. He was nearly tall enough to use the kitchen counters like regular ones, he noticed. He paced about the room madly, ignoring the sounds of footsteps approaching the room he'd sought safety in. Itachi had followed him into the kitchen and was standing calmly in the room with him, waiting.

"Sasuke, look at me," Itachi's words were soft, but not a suggestion.

Sasuke looked at him, though he didn't want to. His big brother, all this time, wasn't really his brother? He was Fate? How ironically cruel. If he had succeeded in his goal, Sasuke would have been killing the mortal form of the creator of all the worlds? It was laughable, really, if one wasn't innately traumatized.

"I am still your brother, the one you grew up with and was determined to kill."

"No, how could you be?" Sasuke's eyes remained affixed to Itachi's face as he'd been ordered but he wished he could look away. He wanted so badly to run from the room, return to his life and the mindlessness of his boyfriend's arms.

"Naruto's divinity is just another facet of his person; he is still your Naruto, isn't he?"

"Of course…"

"I was not conscious of Fate's hold on me, I acted as I wanted, all the decisions, and words, and thoughts were mine. Even when I return to my life I will not remember this conversation, or even the possibility of being a shell for Fate. It will be like a dream for me."

"Then what would the point be?" Sasuke wondered, "If he did not have a control over you, to influence the world, why would he use you?"

"Sasuke," Itachi chuckled, "don't you find it ironic that Fate was responsible for the slaughter of an entire clan, the prevention of a world war, the defection of one of the S-ranked bingo book criminals, and inadvertently the death of both a god child and his mate?"

Sasuke faltered a moment as Itachi's mild laugh ruffled the air again, "Fate has no influence?"

"I suppose he does have some…"

"Besides that, I have multiple shells in each world, for obvious reasons, your older brother just happened to be one of them," just like that Itachi was speaking about himself with the voice of Fate.

That was all the warning Sasuke needed for the glamour that overtook his brother and changed him again. Expecting the grandfather he was pleasantly surprised to see his friend Tala again. Tala smirked at him and strode across the kitchen, leaning his elbows on the island counter. Sasuke mimicked him, feeling far more relaxed in the company of the crazy redhead he'd been spending his time with for so long now.

"See, there you go, smiling again," Sasuke checked his face, trying to force any 'smile' off of it, "Oh come off it, even a bastard like you gets to be happy."

"And you're my friend?"

"Of course," Tala nodded, "Now what say you we play a game of mao?"

Sasuke frowned, his eyebrows stitching together in a displeased knot, "I'm not going back to that life…am I?"

"Now what made you guess?"

"Why? Why didn't I die first? I wanted to say goodbye to him," Sasuke grumbled, "and to Masu and Suoh…"

"They'll be fine, you're not _really_ leaving them," Tala assured him.

"But, I thought we-"

"You're not dying in this life, so technically it can be returned to its original version," Tala explained, "same will be happening with your mate."

"Won't that be sorta weird though, for that Sasuke? Wake up with a boyfriend all of a sudden?"

"He'll have memories implanted into him of the experiences you accumulated."

"And Naruto…?"

"Same."

"Can I…can I still check on them later…if I want to?"

"Sure thing, buddy," Tala smiled, "now how bout that game?"

End of Part 3.


	28. Consequences

**Fate's Garden**

Part 3.5 - Consequences

* * *

_"Son, wake up."_

"Un, dun wanna," Naruto grumbled, rolling over and crushing Sasuke beneath him on the bed. His bedmate swore at him and rearranged them into a once more comfortable position but otherwise returned to sleep.

_"It's time for you to leave this life, wake up."_

"What?" Naruto was suddenly wide awake.

_"Why? What's going on?"_

_"You're not going to die, this version will get his Naruto back, all is well."_

_"Really? But I thought…"_

_"Since you're not dying, there's no point in not returning this world's Naruto to it."_

_"But…"_

_"He'll have memories of what transpired given to him, and none of this information will be given to anyone else. Everything will be fine."_

_"Okay, just give me a minute."_

_"Only a minute, kit."_

"Sasuke, wake up," Naruto mimicked his father, pushing himself up and off of this incarnation of his mate.

Dark black eyes blinked up at him groggily, "Naruto, what's going on? It's…" the same eyes flashed to the alarm clock next to the bed, "six in the morning."

"I'm leaving," Naruto told him, watching the sleep weary face become instantly alert.

"What…you're just…right now?"

"Yes, but don't worry, I'm not dying, and you'll get your Naruto bad, memories of what happened and all."

Sasuke smiled, probably only because he was still so sleepy though he was more attentive due to the news, "And you'll get your Sasuke back."

"Yes." Naruto wasn't sure why the thought made him so queasy. Everything was better, he understood, and he was ready to meet up with his mate again. But at the same time…how awkward would that be? He cheated on him…with…him? He had to stop before that got too confusing.

"It was nice meeting you, huh?" Sasuke mumbled, and as their lips met for a goodbye kiss, he was gone.

Changing lives always felt distinctly odd. Especially since this time he didn't die. He was going from one experience to another and from one body to another. Naruto transitioned from being propped up on his hands and knees in bed, kissing Sasuke to sitting in a hospital room, slumped over in a stiff plastic chair. Naruto blinked and rubbed at his eyes, already getting a surge of fuzzy shapes, images, vague memories and feelings of the soul he'd just replaced. Directly ahead of him was a hospital bed, and in it was Sasuke, from his guess, a twelve year old Sasuke. He had a thick cotton bandage of his eyes and a relatively peaceful look on his face. He was sleeping it seemed. They were genin, that was the first thought that came to him. Well, they weren't anymore. They weren't nin anymore? Why not?

Naruto closed his eyes tightly and then opened them again. He needed more memories, sooner. He had no idea if this was his Sasuke yet and his father wasn't miraculously presenting him with answers. The door to the room, which was behind him, opened, and Naruto whirled around. A medic-nin he didn't recognize nodded politely to him.

"Good morning Mr. Uzumaki, I'm just here to change his dressings."

"Alright."

She nodded again, moving around him to the opposite side of the hospital bed, Naruto just noticing the packs tucked under her arm. She set them on the bedside table, and some others on a metal tray standing by. Naruto wasn't sure why but he was suddenly filled with an enormous dread at the thought of what he'd see after she removed those bandages. The nurse worked quietly and diligently, very cautious as she worked away the tape. Slowly and carefully the bandage was removed, layer by layer. The wads of cotton closer to Sasuke's eyes were coming back drenched in blood. Fear and concern were interlaced and pooled in Naruto's stomach as he watched on. Finally, when the last piece of gauze was removed Naruto realized his growing suspicion was correct.

Both of Sasuke's eyes were gone.

* * *

Sasuke sat in the living room of Fate's house, chatting with his cousins. They were more than happy to see him again. Gaara especially was enthused, as much as he loved his family, he admitted that it was nice to have Sasuke's calm presence amidst the group. Sasuke had laughed at that, embracing the red head, filled with a happiness he didn't completely understand. He had been greeted by all of his in-laws, and even Shukaku had withheld a glare. Kyuubi was quite welcoming, going so far as to pull his 'son-in-law' into a bone creaking hug.

But now, as Sasuke sat there he was beginning to notice that Naruto had not yet shown up. That and every single god was in attendance, which was quite unusual. The big family gatherings did not occur often, usually only a few appearing along with their children, or their children visiting each other. Finally, even the grandfather had tottered out of the kitchen with a steaming plate of cookies and chocolates and teas. The food was pounced upon by the children, the parents growling or chirping or hissing their annoyance.

"Now, my children and grandchildren, it is the moment you all have been waiting for," the grandfather announced.

Sasuke watched on in confusion as the old man suddenly made his way towards him. He was pulled to his feet and guided over to the center of the room in view of everyone. All of his aunts and uncles appeared quite smug, some rather pleased, and Kyuubi was obviously reserving judgment.

"As we are all aware, little one had a bit of a misunderstanding in his last life," there was an outbreak of laughter but none of malicious in tone but still Sasuke felt a little embarrassed, "and he has now learned his lesson. However, actions do have consequences, and in accordance him and his mate are undergoing one last life together before they are to return home."

"What?" Sasuke blurted, doing his best to ignore the amused chatter of his family, "I thought I was just supposed to go through that one life and be done!"

"No, little one, the life you have returned from was to replace the one you mucked up, this is the life you are going through as consequence for the mucking." Fate explained warmly.

"But…"

"No buts, little one, now Yuuta will show you to your hallway, Yuuta my son, would you mind?"

Sasuke tried to persuade the grandfather otherwise but he didn't have a hope. The rabbit god was already at his side, tugging him along, out of the living room and into the hallway of the universe.

End of Part 3.5.


	29. Hysteria: Chapter 1

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**Author's Note 1:** I am SO sorry for the delay! I didn't think it would be this much of a problem, but some of you have been even worrying for my health considering my usually prompt updates. xD Recently I have hit a slump in my writing where everything, even the things I WANT to write, feels like a chore. It's annoying me so much, so I'm trying to force myself to write what I can, when I can. As soon as I have a chapter worthy of showing you I will post it I promise. I just started school on the 3rd of september, and have fairly easy classes this year, I just have to get back into the habit of school. I HAVE been trying to write Fate's Garden, I have like four different drafts of the first chapter of part 4. I've really been trying my hardest, and I feel bad for leaving you hanging. I'm not going to promise a chapter soon because I don't want to get your hopes up and I honestly don't know. But the wait will definitely not be months long, so no worries there. _**I am not discontinuing this story**_. I mean, why would I? The end is in sight! One part left, 8 chapters? Do not lose faith!

I love you guys all so much, and I am perfectly fine, not dead, not ill. Just a little stress.

**Author's Note 2:** I have my own forums now! And they have a topic for Fate's Garden for you all to post in and chat away! Please do, I would love to see you guys talking in there. I might even pop in and talk to ya. It would amuse me to no end, please do!

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* * *

**Fate's Garden**

Part 4 - Hysteria

Chapter 1 - Gloucester

"I have no way, and therefore want no eyes, I stumbled when I saw." Gloucester, _King Lear_.

* * *

The air was sterile, the room silent. Naruto felt guilty for breathing, with how loud it sounded in this noiseless cocoon of whiteness. Everything in the room was white: the walls, the ceiling, the linoleum tile, the sheets and blankets on the bed, Sasuke's hospital gown, the cloth that had recently replaced his bandages. All of it, Naruto felt as though he were slowly fading away. It had been two weeks now and he'd remained in the room with Sasuke. There was a bathroom connected, and they brought food up for him. Sasuke had woken only once since then. It had been horrifying.

_"What? What's going on? Naruto is that you? Where are the others? Kakashi-sensei and Sakura? Are they alright?! Where's Zabuza? Haku? Where are we?" Sasuke's words were logical at first, coherent, and yet urgent. He was a nin on a mission after all. But then they grew in a ferocious crescendo that had Naruto calling for the nurse._

_"Nurse? We're in the hospital? Why are we in the hospital? Why can't I see anything?!" _

_Sasuke lifted his hands up to his eyes and pressed against the bandage. He frowned and then screamed, scratching at the gauze in a panic. He clawed and pulled every last bit of cloth off, yanking off scabs until his empty eye sockets were pouring blood. His nimble fingers felt the blood on his face and reached up into the gaping holes left where his eyes had been. He looked like a skeleton from a horror film, blood weeping from the sightless maws left amidst ashen flesh. Feeling no eyes where they should be, the most heart wrenching scream sliced through the air. The nurse had arrived by that time and called for help. She tried to hold him down but he struggled, scared, confused, and disgusted. _

_Naruto had gagged and nearly thrown up at the site of Sasuke reaching into his empty eye sockets, with blood all over his face. Eventually after some timeless stretch of mayhem, the congregation of security, nurses, and doctors sedated Sasuke. After that it was the nurses' job to clean up the wounds, and bandage him back up. _

Learning their lesson the doctors added a sedative drip to Sasuke's charts. Now, even if he woke up, he wouldn't fly into hysteria as he had before. The door behind him opened and Naruto turned in his seat, finding his muscles complaining at the sudden change in posture. It was Kakashi-sensei, appearing haggard and withdrawn. He closed the door. His feet made no sound on the awkward tile as he approached, pulling a chair away from an empty bed and making use of it. He sat. Naruto returned to his slouch, once again made of stone.

"So…" Kakashi said.

"So…" Naruto croaked. He hadn't been talking much.

"The council has decided that due to the nature of the injury and the circumstances surrounding it, the two of you will have your qualifications as ninja removed."

"The nature of the injury?" Naruto scoffed.

"Have you ever met a blind ninja, Naruto?"

He was silent.

"And…Naruto, you know why they're disqualifying you…?"

"I went a little crazy," Naruto shrugged, not enjoying that particular memory gained, "I'll live. Sasuke needs somebody."

Kakashi didn't reply. He probably didn't care if Sasuke needed somebody, nor did he care that Naruto had gone crazy and he would be fine. Naruto had forgotten how emotionally constipated his sensei had been. He hadn't realized that back then, the man found them to be an annoyance more than anything. It had taken him years to acknowledge them with fondness.

Though there was the consistent beep of Sasuke's heart monitor, the silence in the room was so thick that it felt awful to whisper let alone speak. He felt like he was ruining something.

"What will happen to Sakura then?"

"For now I will train her as a special case and prepare her for the chuunin exams. Once she is ready she will be paired with other genins like her, who have lost team mates."

"She didn't lose us."

"…whose teams have also been disbanded due to extenuating situations."

Neither of them did well with pleasantries or tact. The air between them was heavy and awkward. Boy and man at a stalemate, neither caring for the other's feelings, biting out words for the sake of communicating vital information and that was it.

Kakashi stood. He pushed the chair back over to the bed on the other half of the room. Then he left. Long strides took him to the door which he opened and shut without a word of goodbye. Naruto stared at the other bed, unoccupied and having been that way since he'd woken up in this life. The chair had always been with it and they seemed together a comical empty reflection of Naruto and Sasuke's arrangement. He didn't like noticing them. Something in his head told him that one day he'd look over and there would be a person lying in that bed with disease ridden gaze fixed upon him. Naruto wasn't sure where he'd first gotten the feeling but it was there and wouldn't leave him alone.

He was beginning to hope that Sasuke wouldn't wake up and that they would both miraculously pass away in their sleep. Even if his Sasuke got a move on and occupied this Sasuke's body, he'd still react badly. Sasuke didn't like not being in control, and blindness did not lend itself to such an attitude. On the other hand, the traumatized Sasuke of this life wouldn't exactly be easy to handle either. Naruto slouched just a little bit more in his seat. He willed Sasuke to stay asleep for just a few more days. _I don't want to deal with this just yet…_

* * *

Sasuke appeared in the hallway of the universe feeling somewhat cheated. He hadn't expected this consequence life and he had no want of it. But it was not his decision so within a minute or so he settled into the circumstance quite readily. He let no more than a grumble escape his lips and Yuuta, who now stood before him, nodded approvingly.

"Follow me, little godling," Yuuta called, gesturing over his shoulder that Sasuke should hurry up.

Sasuke did as instructed, though he couldn't help that his feet moved just a tad slow. His eyes were affixed to the walls. Upon them were drawings like those of a child. They were floor to ceiling but none too wide. Simply portraits of himself, walking. He grew younger as he progressed down the hall until eventually he was nothing more than a child in the womb. Then that very womb was in flames and all was left was ashes. From those ashes crawled a weary faced old man. He shook himself free from ash and continued on as if such occurrences were perfectly usual.

Yuuta stopped him at a door they'd just arrived at, on the right side of the hallway. Sasuke found this interesting as all the previous lives' doors had been on the left. He noticed that the old man kept walking in pictures down the hall, and if he squinted well enough he saw him join up with another old man, or another old person at the least. Sasuke wanted to go down there and take a look but Yuuta stopped him.

"This is your door, childe."

"But there's a picture on the wall down there…I can go in just a minute, can't I?"

"It is understandable that you question until you come fully into your divinity and have the answers, but I still manage to find it annoying."

Sasuke scowled at him.

Yuuta held the door open for him and Sasuke begrudgingly walked through it, falling into the abyss.

**TBC...**


	30. Hysteria: Chapter 2

**Fate's Garden**

Part 4 - Hysteria

Chapter 2 - Who We Are

* * *

At first, when Sasuke awoke, he wasn't quite sure that he had. He couldn't see anything, nothing but darkness. Like he had his eyes closed. So he tried to open them, but he couldn't feel them. He couldn't feel his eyes. He couldn't feel his eyelids so he couldn't open them, but he could move his arms, and move his head back and forth. He could hear a beeping, and it was getting on his nerves. Sasuke may not have been able to feel his eyes, but he could still feel his nose and cheeks, and the ridge of his brow. Over them he could feel a soft pressure, as if a blindfold had been tied around his face, covering the upper half of it.

He reached his hands up to his face feeling the cloth he had expected to be there. A voice, familiar though surprisingly young, broke the unnerving silence.

"Sasuke?"

"Dobe?" he replied, the relief filling the nickname with a warmth that the air was sorely lacking.

"I'm here," and suddenly he was, there was a dip in what Sasuke guessed was a mattress he was lying on. A hand grasped his shoulder, and another cupped his cheek. Sasuke leant into it, reassured by the familiarity of it.

_Beep_.

"What the hell is that goddamned beeping? Could you turn it off?"

Sasuke turned his head and kissed the hand that he leant into, scowling against the callused skin.

"It's your heart monitor," Naruto's voice took on a hesitant tone, a begrudging tone. It was one that Sasuke had learned to dread hearing, to scoff at. It meant that there was something the dobe didn't want to say, and would dance around for hours if he could.

"I'm in the hospital? In Konoha?"

"Yes."

One of Sasuke's hands had been replaced by Naruto's on his face, but the other was still resting on the cloth. Carefully Sasuke slipped the free hand under the cloth on his face and felt for his eyes. But…they were…gone. They just weren't there. No eyelids, but there were stitches to sew shut the incisions where his eyelids had been. Instead there were two holes, rough blistered burns where the skin had been cauterized and the eyes had been removed. His eyes, his sharingan, everything that made him who he was, an Uchiha, had been completely stripped from him.

Why was he so calm? Sasuke felt like he was getting colder, but then there was a cut off. He couldn't sink any deeper. There was something that was keeping him from getting too worked up. He was in a hospital, he was bound to be pumped full of drugs.

"What happened?"

"When we were in the mists, we were trapped in Haku's mirrors of ice and some of the needles hit your eyes and they were poisoned…" Naruto managed, "we had to pull out your eyes to keep the poison from spreading…"

_"Oh my god! Oh my god, you, you sick bastard!" _

_"It's not as if I was aiming for them…"_

_"I'm going to kill you!"_

_"For your precious person?"_

"It's a miracle you're alive really, I mean, the amount of blood you lost was amazing…if it weren't for a few mist nins, we wouldn't have been able to get you back to Konoha in time to get you the care you needed."

"Dobe…" Sasuke felt that his throat had been seared with hot coals and now it was dried and parched, his words would come out a dusty rattle like dead leaves, "…you're talking like an old man."

"I _am_ an old man, and so are you-" Naruto hesitated, suddenly paranoid.

"It's me, dobe, don't worry. I just mean be careful, we are in a public place you know."

"Yeah, but it's not like anyone here cares about us, I mean, you should have heard Kakashi…"

"He was here earlier?"

"A few days ago."

"Ah."

"We've had our qualifications as nin removed."

"Why?"

"I'm crazy and you're a cripple, why else?"

Naruto's touch left him just as swiftly as the joy had left his voice. Sasuke heard something heavy scrape across the floor and the pressure in the mattress leave.

"Naruto?" he sounded so pathetic.

"I'm here, just in the chair next to your bed."

No, he wasn't that weak. He could do this. Sasuke clenched at the sheets. Before he snapped and reached out, Naruto reached for him, laying a hand on his quivering own.

"I'm here."

"I know."

"I'm not leaving."

"I know."

"Do you?"

"…yes."

More scraping and then Sasuke could feel a weight lay over his abdomen, an arm snaking through the gap between his back and the mattress (he was propped up at an angle). Sasuke jerked abruptly, he hated not seeing anything. Naruto hummed against his belly and Sasuke stilled, resting a hand in the short blond hair.

"Wait," Sasuke mumbled, "Haku and Zabuza? We went on the mission to the mists in this life?"

"Yeah."

"Haku and Zabuza are at home though."

"Really?"

"Mm, cousins, Chikao's children."

"Who?"

"Your aunt, grandpa's sixth child."

"Ah."

"Oh never mind, if I ask them they'll just say something about time being an illusion or something. Somehow this was their last life too and that we came into it after they'd left and so it all makes sense really and-"

"Teme you're rambling, do you want me to get the nurse in here to check you over and we can see about leaving this dump?"

"Yes."

Naruto shifted again, and Sasuke heard a click. His mate settled down again.

"What was that?"

"Pressed the nurse summoning button."

A nurse it did summon. Sasuke heard a door open and footsteps, then a polite noise that sounded like someone clearing their throat.

"Sir?"

"When can we leave?" Naruto asked bluntly.

Sasuke knew that he shouldn't cling. He let Naruto sit up and talk to the nurse. He didn't pay much attention to what they were saying. The crazy to his cripple could handle it just fine. Sasuke scowled. He didn't like being the cripple in that pair. He wasn't a cripple.

A pair of hands that were two soft and petite to be Naruto's settled on his face and Sasuke jerked back.

"I'm sorry Mr. Uchiha, but I need to check you over before I call the doctor in, alright?"

He nodded stiffly. He didn't want this woman touching him but it couldn't be helped. She lifted up his blindfold and her fingers slipped over his burnt skin. It was tender still, and he didn't like the feeling of someone else, someone he _didn't know_ touching his empty eye sockets. He jerked away and she apologized, sincerely.

After that she started narrating, telling him what she was doing as she was doing it. Sasuke mostly wanted to beat her but surprisingly her talking helped a lot. He liked knowing what was going on. Of course, dobe was right there also, holding his hand, _not_ leaving. Eventually the woman left the room to summon the doctor.

Sasuke spent his time waiting focusing on simply listening. When you lose one sense your others gain new heights. He knew it would take a while for his hearing to really improve enough to be a substitute for his sight. He might as well practice when he could. He would be getting plenty of practice.

He could hear quite well his heart monitor, and dobe's breathing, his own heart beat. There were the sounds of the hospital staff moving about in the hallways, talking to one another, giving orders, spreading gossip. Then there was the hustle and bustle of the main drag of Konoha below the window in the room. Sasuke tilted his head one way, and then the other, trying to decipher the location of the window. He knew it had to be sunny out, he wasn't sure why because he couldn't feel the sunlight coming through the window. There must be something blocking the light, all he could feel on his skin was a cool artificial substitute that came from the translucent bulbs overhead. He turned his head again and listened. He could hear some conversations, pockets of them, from the crowds outside the window. Something about him! _What a shame, that Uchiha brat isn't really an Uchiha anymore, huh? Lost his eyes…_ Sasuke scowled deeper. How dare they?

"Mr. Uchiha?"

Sasuke turned towards voice, "Yes?"

"Hello, I'm the med-nin who handled your surgery, Dr. Muuta," a deep baritone informed him, "how are you feeling?"

"Alright except for the whole blindness thing," Sasuke quipped. He knew it didn't help to be snarky in this particular situation but really, what was this man expecting? It fit in with his 'role' to be bitter. He was back to being a bratty twelve-year old bent on revenge. Sasuke gagged when he tried to roll eyes that weren't there. He shivered.

"Sasuke?"

He felt Naruto shift his hold on him and he heard the concern in his voice.

"Easy to forget eyes aren't there," he offered as an explanation.

His statement was met with an awkward silence. Footsteps sounded on the floor, leather and squeaky, something was picked up at the end of his bed. It sounded like plastic scraping, maybe there were charts there. Sasuke seemed to recall that the med-nin's kept slim plastic binders filled with patient's charts hanging on the end of their beds. He wasn't sure why.

"Well, it looks like, side from a psych-eval, you're all set. The burns from cauterizing the cuts in your eye sockets are still tender, so I'm going to prescribe a cream for you to put on twice a day. You'll need to keep that blindfold on, any elongated exposure to light will cause a strain on the skin for a while."

"So I can leave?"

"I would think so, but getting your discharge papers through might take a few hours, I'm sure we can have you checked out by the end of the day. I'd like you to have that cream in hand before I let you go home though."

"Hn."

There was a brief pause in which Sasuke heard no movement and then Naruto said, "That means 'ok'."

Sasuke wished he could glare.

* * *

As promised, _hours_ later Sasuke was checked out. He had his IV's removed, his sockets (as he'd taken to calling them) 'checked' _again_, and then was given clothes to change into. Though Sasuke had gone two lives in a row without wearing his forehead protector, he still fell slightly naked without it. In its place now he had the blindfold. He was growing attached to it already, he felt safe having it over his gruesome eyeless visage that perhaps looked too stern for his age. As dobe had said, they were old men now in the bodies of children. These mortals that floundered through life like fish upon breathless land all appeared childish to the two of them.

The air was warm and soft on his skin. It had been spring, hadn't it? Back then? He couldn't remember. Naruto had a hand on his arm and was leading him through the crowds, though Sasuke never once brushed against someone. The people must have been parting for them. The hisses, the pitied whispers, the horrified gasps, they intruded his ears, crawling and writhing towards his eardrum like determined ants and lithe hornets. Every gesture, whether it was sympathetic or malevolent sought to sting and pester him into fury.

"Alright, stairs here," Naruto informed him.

Sasuke tilted his head down so his chin was against his chest. It pacified his mind to think that if he had eyes they would be looking at the stairs he would have to climb. He reached out one foot and tentatively found the first step. He pulled himself up onto it and felt Naruto climb with him. Another step, he stubbed his toe on the edge of it before he found purchase in the warped wood top. It was like this he climbed up the stairs, testing, moving slowly like an infant. Eventually, roughly halfway up the horrible climb he managed to guess the expected height of each step and had less fumbles. It was still frustrating beyond belief.

On the second floor Sasuke was led, when they came to a halt he heard Naruto dig around in his pockets. A metal jingling, keys, were pulled from the pocket and fitted into the lock on the door they'd stopped in front of. He heard the door open and then he was brought inside.

"This is your apartment?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes," Naruto answered, closing the door and locking it behind them, "Now I'm not going to baby you, have fun exploring while I go to the bathroom. I know you wanted to feel the room at the hospital."

Sasuke smirked, quashing the nervousness that grew as Naruto left his side, taking his touch with him. It figured that through his scowl Naruto could understand that much. Sasuke listened, and reached out his right hand, trying to find the wall. At first he fumbled about in the air, wondering, and then he found it. He had to scoot over a foot. As he'd been sitting in the hospital bed all day Sasuke had been pondering ways to overcome his loss of sight other than improving his hearing. He'd spent a great amount of time that day listening. He hadn't spoken and had shushed his mate more than a few times. Sasuke found that his ears now twitched quite a bit.

One theory he'd formulated was using webs of chakra to assess the location of things. It was easy to do on scouting missions, why couldn't he do the same now? Of course he'd tried that in the hospital room and been thoroughly scolded by the nurse for wasting chakra he should be using to recover. Sasuke didn't understand exactly what he was healing. Sure the cuts all over might look horrible to some, but they were nothing compared to the things he'd experienced over the lifetimes. A shattered skull and broken spine? Near fatal smoke inhalation only ceased by a knife through the heart? Slitting his veins open? He'd died so many times mere wounds such as these were embarrassing to find bothersome.

Again Sasuke focused his chakra, allowing it to pool in his hands and from there form it into thread, spools at the ready. He unwound the lines of life energy, until they were loops hanging from his lax fingers. Casting them out he felt them fall and land upon a myriad of surfaces. Images appeared in his head of the shapes of things. A few feet from him to the left was a low surface, a table, a coffee table. Behind it a few inches or so was a chair, no, a couch, a futon? Sasuke reeled in the webs and shuffled forward a few steps. He reached out and prodded the table with his foot, it was as he'd expected it to be.

Slowly he made his way through the apartment, tossing out the lines and assessing the shapes of things that arose in his mind. Not far from the futon to the right was a doorway. There was the kitchen. Sasuke stood in the doorway with his webs coating the surfaces. The fridge was in the far left corner, the sink next to it, and then to the left of the sink was a modest oven and stove. There was cabinetry above and a small square table pushed to one corner with two chairs.

"I knew it wouldn't take you long," Naruto's voice was soothing on his ears. He'd heard the bathroom door open as he'd inspected the living room. But as the footsteps had carried away from him instead of toward him, Sasuke had continued with his exploration.

Sasuke turned around to face Naruto and threw his chakra strings onto him, just for curiosity's sake. The shape of his mate that the energy webs depicted was humorous in its ambiguity. He would guess, if this were any other person, they were short, and had some sort of furry creature atop their head. His hair confused the chakra and so the shape was odd. Sasuke reeled it back into him, suspending the focus and stepping forward, his hands found Naruto's shoulders without hesitation. From their they ran up his neck and traced his jaw. Arms snaked around Sasuke's waist and pulled him into an embrace.

"I'm sorry," Naruto said.

Sasuke felt the words as much as he heard them. Naruto's face was closer to his than he'd noticed a minute ago. At that moment, Sasuke knew that though he loathed tears, he wished at the moment he had the option of shedding them.

"I know," he murmured, "and…and I am too, if I could have just stayed with you, so much of our stupidity could have been spared. But…"

"We wouldn't be who we are."

Sasuke's lips twitched into a hesitant smile. He guided Naruto's face closer with sure hands, bringing their lips together. It was odd how every kiss with the other-dobe of his previous life incited arousal, and passion, and drove thought from his head. Yet this kiss, soft and slow, felt like coming home. It was worn, warm, and far less awkward than Sasuke imagined it might be. He pulled back and listened. He realized, Naruto's breathing was ragged, not from any desire, but from tears. What bittersweet happiness that Sasuke could not show, Naruto felt for them both.

**TBC...**


	31. Hysteria: Chapter 3

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A/n: Short chapter is short. It is my OCD that compels me to ensure this part also has 8 chapters. :) I'm buying time. Though something important actually occurs next chapter so do not fear. And this story DOES have a happy ending so none of you freak out on me, okay?

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* * *

**Fate's Garden**

Part 4 - Hysteria

Chapter 3 - _THUNK_

* * *

_"Oh my god! Oh my god, you, you sick bastard!" _

_"It's not as if I was aiming for them…"_

_"I'm going to kill you!"_

_"For your precious person?"_

_Naruto screamed and lunged for the mirror of ice, for the boy, Haku. But he moved to a different mirror, and then to another, and another. Rage flooded him, dousing his body in flames, his nails grew, and his canines forced their way over his bottom lip. He could feel the red chakra begin to encase his body, ripping off whole sections of his skin only for it to come back within seconds. He was consumed by a never ending cycle of pain, regrowth, and anger. His precious person…_

_He searched the mirrors, his eyes moving faster than he thought possible. They somehow knew that behind every mirror they landed on, even the one the boy appeared in, did not hold his victim. There, beyond the mirrors, manipulating them into showing images that were not true. Naruto leapt through the mirrors, breaking past them, his fist colliding with the boy's face. The wooden mask cracked as it fell off his face and onto the ground, the boy himself landing with a resounding thud farther off. The mirrors disappeared and in the blink of an eye Naruto was on him. His fists moving faster and faster, the once recognizable face of the boy he'd met but a few days ago was quickly becoming a bloody mess. Soon he was beating a lifeless corpse and there was shouting._

_"Naruto! Stop!" _

_He looked up, it was the alpha male, the father of their litter. The strange fox with two different eyes. Naruto growled and turned around, seeing only more prey, approaching his mate. They were barking and yipping something in some distant language that did not translate in his mind. They were going to do something to his precious person. They had to be stopped. As a blur he flew, from threat to threat, extinguishing each one that arose. Soon all that was left was the strange fox, and, and the pink furred kit of his litter. What was she doing? What was she doing to his precious person? She was hurting him! He was screaming!_

_Naruto ran, his fist colliding with her head and sending her flying through the air, landing near the corpse of the ice boy, Haku. But he was too late. There before him, screaming in pain and horror, was his precious person, and his eyes were gone._

* * *

Naruto's eyes flew open. Someone was screaming. Blearily he flung himself out of bed and out of the room. He looked around, first pushing the bathroom door open and peering inside. Finding nothing he moved into the living room, and then into the kitchen. Sasuke was curled up on the floor, his blind fold hurled across the room to lie under the table. His knees were pulled up to his chest and he had his fingers curled into his eye sockets, holding onto them for dear life. There were no tears, just a strangled screaming that echoed throughout the apartment. Naruto fell to the floor and crawled towards the hysterical boy, pulling him into his arms. Sasuke put up quite a struggle. Naruto was sure to be bruised later.

"Sasuke, shhh, its okay," Naruto tried to say. But Sasuke wasn't listening, he was trapped in some phantom nightmare he had no hope of escaping.

* * *

_Sasuke lay on the ground, consumed in a whirlwind of pain. There were needles stabbing into him all over his body. He could feel a heat that was so immense it hurt more than the needles and it was pouring through his body._"Sasuke, it's okay, I'm here."_ His eyes felt like they were melting. All he heard was screaming, angry, fighting, crying. He heard footsteps too, but he could see nothing. He couldn't move, he wished he could die, fall asleep, be away from there, or _something_._

_Somebody was touching him, talking to him. Fingers were pressing on his eyes, wedging themselves under his eyelids._"Sasuke…"_ He screamed, or maybe he'd been screaming. Maybe all that noise had just been him. He couldn't tell. He'd lost all sense of what was what. The fingers kept moving, soothing with their coolness yet horrifying. All he knew was pain at that moment, but what he'd thought was pain was nothing compared to losing his eyes._"Sasuke, listen to me, it's okay, it's Naruto, I'm right here."_ He'd thought they'd melted. Sasuke could feel the cord of muscle snap, the flow of blood down his face, the heat abated somewhat at the loss of his eyes. But as the heat went away the pain intensified and all he could do was lie there. Writhing in an agony that would never end. More shouting and crying, was that him or someone else? He couldn't tell anymore. There was no knowing anymore._

* * *

"Sasuke…"

Sasuke first felt arms around him and he lashed out. Then Naruto spoke to him and he settled. His right hand was still in his socket and he wanted his blindfold. He pushed himself free of the dobe and crawled somewhere to the left, moving slowly. _THUNK_.

"Ow."

"Sasuke, what are you doing?"

"'M finding my blindfold, dobe." Sasuke hobbled forward, rubbing at his sore forehead. He'd crawled straight into one of the metal table legs.

"It's under the table."

"That's why I'm over here, why else would I be?" he grumbled, feeling around on the linoleum and inevitably finding the comforting piece of cloth.

Sasuke at first expected an exasperated sigh, but none met his ears. Instead, Naruto said, "You had a nightmare too."

Sasuke turned slightly, looking over his shoulder at where he assumed Naruto was.

Naruto's statement was rewarded with a sightless gaze that was aimed to his left. He opened his mouth to try and get Sasuke to talk about it, only to decide that he would be more than perturbed if Sasuke tried the same with him. So he remained silent. Sasuke looked back to the floor and set about putting his blindfold on. His nimble hands successfully tied a secure knot, and once again the top half of his face was covered. He started at the sound of a knock on the door and Naruto was sad to say he had jumped quite a bit too. Neither of them was ready for visitors. But at the moment they were both still mortal, and they didn't get to pick and choose what they were ready to deal with.

**TBC...**


	32. Hysteria: Chapter 4

**DON'T PANIC**: I realize that this chapter is pretty epic, in the true sense of the word. Do not fear, the happy ending does in fact await. And the explanation that Kyuubi is getting to is going to be explained _some more_ in the following chapters. If I confuse everyone I am sorry, I will attempt to rewrite it to make it no-thought-friendly. But for now...I hope that...ugh...enjoy?

**ALSO:** I'd like to point out that there is a new link in the 'fan art for my stories' section. A picture of the scene from chapter 8 of anomalistic 'meeting the in-laws' has been uploaded to dA. It is very well done, and you get the chance to see what the gods and the godlings look like. Take a look, it's really quite the impressive picture.

* * *

**Fate's Garden**

Part 4 - Hysteria

Chapter 4 - Discord

* * *

The knock at the door startled them both, but probably it bothered Sasuke more than it did Naruto. After all, Sasuke had only had to really interact with someone other than his mate once or twice and that was at the hospital. They'd made their way through town to Naruto's apartment as quickly as possible.

Naruto wearily pushed himself up off of the floor, telling Sasuke he'd answer it. His mate nodded, his chin pressed to his chest. Naruto left the kitchen, wheeling to his left and heading straight for the door. Not sure who he thought it might be he peeked through the peep-hole. Standing on his doorstep was the sandaime. Naruto quickly opened the door and greeted the old man.

"Good morning Naruto, how are you faring?"

"We're doing fine, hokage-sama," Naruto answered.

"Ah, so Sasuke-kun is here as well?"

"He's in bed at the moment, sleeping off the trauma from yesterday."

"Trauma…?"

"Waking up without any eyes…?"

"Ah, right."

Naruto was not unhappy to see the sandaime, but he wasn't exactly ecstatic either. He knew that this was the point in time where most people would invite the leader of their village into their homes, but Naruto was not going to unless the old man was stubborn about it.

"Perhaps I could speak with him?"

"A little bit later would probably be for the best, sir."

"Ah, so maybe we could meet for lunch then?"

"That would be fine."

"You can find me at the office and we can figure out where to eat from there."

"Sounds good."

"See you soon," the old man's face was crinkled into a falsely happy mask that concealed his displeasure. Naruto could smell the frustration on him.

"Yes, see you soon." Naruto shut the door in his face.

That was the most awkward, disrespectful conversation Naruto had ever entertained with the third hokage. The sandaime had always been a man Naruto respected and looked up to. He still did, if only slightly. But at the moment he didn't have the patience to endure a discussion between his mate and a nosy old man who was completely insensitive. _I'm over reacting, he won't be insensitive,_ Naruto told himself.

Amiably he returned to the kitchen to inform his mate about the 'lunch' they would now have to attend. Upon such a return, however, he saw that his mate was asleep on linoleum, snoring away.

* * *

Sasuke barely managed to stay long enough to nod in response to Naruto's statement. He was going to get the door. That was nice. But just like that he was yanked from that reality and into the garden. He blinked once, twice…he…had eyes! He rolled them and looked at everything he could. At first Sasuke had thought that he'd been taken back to the fox life, his surroundings so largely resembled the forest he'd spent two decades in. The only difference was how tall the trees were. They seemed to stretch on forever, their leaves a vague idea portrayed as a distant mass of green.

"Hello, son-in-law," a familiar husky voice greeted him.

Sasuke tore his eyes away from the far off canopy and focused them on the enormous nine-tailed fox standing before him.

"Hello, Kyuubi," Sasuke answered.

"There's something you need to know, about your mate, and the circumstances of things."

Sasuke arched a brow at the ominous words, finding it a bit melodramatic for the usually frank fox god. He figure that perhaps this would be a long conversation so he settled himself down onto the soft grass. Kyuubi himself lied down in front of him, his forearms neatly set before him. The fox was so large he beat out Naruto's fox form. Looking up at him, Sasuke for the first time actually felt as though he were speaking to a god. Before the family, the garden, had all been so relatable, so familiar. But as he sat, and noticed the largeness, the oddness of things, he felt more out of place than he'd ever felt there. He had to be calm, everything seemed to be growing fuzzy around the edges, as though his mind was having to work harder and harder to portray a world that wasn't really there. Things were becoming less and less like things and more like the ideas of them. Ideas that had been only half remembered.

"Us Gods, such a lofty title for the children of Fate, our say in things is so very remote that it is laughable to make us seem so entitled," Kyuubi intoned with a bitter chuckle.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked.

"You recall the fuss made by your aunts and uncles, don't you? Everyone was quite upset that you were to come to the garden in the end, become one of us when all this time you have been a mortal."

"I recall," Sasuke assured him, though he wasn't quite sure what the fox god was getting at.

"We all had mates too, you know, just as my son has you," Kyuubi's gaze was the only thing to not become less, if anything it burned brighter, becoming clearer as everything else distorted, "but they were not to come with us, they were to stay mortal and be a lesson for us, as life was, to teach us the virtues we had not, to prepare us for our divinity."

"My father said that through an acquisition of all the virtues and all the sin in the mortal world, we could have an understanding of his creation. We would be ready to inhabit this heavenly garden; we would be ready to watch over the mortals in their chaos."

"Were you ready?"

"We were ready, godling, for the inhabitance, not for the chaos."

"I don't understand."

"Fate is the creator and catalyst of all things, he is everywhere at once, he is responsible for the workings of things. Nothing would happen if not for Fate, so is it not expected that his children are the creators of chaos?"

Kyuubi's tails were enormous, much like the rest of him, but Sasuke's eyes could not stop staring at them. They swished, back and forth, all nine of them. They flowed through the air as if they were under water. Everything they touched became warped and twisted, and changed.

"That night, that fateful night in _my_ last life, when I was about to enter the garden, I did not know what I was to become," Kyuubi growled, "I did not know that my soul would be split into infinitely small pieces and spread into every world, every universe my father created. I did not know that I would become this demon, this force of discord and horror."

"We're going to be demons too?" Sasuke felt as though someone had put a rubber stopper in his throat.

"No, you will not."

"Then what's going to happen? Why are you telling me this?"

"There is to be a cleansing, Sasuke, of all the worlds, a sort of, 'do-over' if you will," Kyuubi explained, "we, the gods, will create new worlds in place of the old, Fate will die and my son will become him, and you will remain by his side for the rest of eternity."

"You're going to die…?"

"Not quite, we will divide, as we have before, and become the new worlds, and the people, and your cousins will become the seeds of change, and you, you and my son will be a new Fate for a new world."

TBC…


	33. Hysteria: Chapter 5

**HARHAR:** I'm on a roll. C: Aren't you excited? I might just have another chapter up today. The beginning...of WHAT? *gasp* Why don'tcha guess?

**

* * *

Fate's Garden**

Part 4 - Hysteria

Chapter 5 - The Beginning

* * *

_"There is to be a cleansing of all the worlds…"_

Sasuke awoke to the chill floor, back in his darkness. However horrible it was to lose sight, to be teased with having it again if only for a few moments, Sasuke was glad it was gone. He would rather be shrouded in darkness than forced to watch everything he knew and understood be warped and changed as in the forest he'd just visited.

He yawned and stretched his arms up above him. His fists ran into something and he remembered he'd fallen asleep under the kitchen table. Sasuke grumbled as he crawled out from under the table and stood up, feeling better at having the soft cloth of his blindfold pressed against his face. He turned left and kept a simple spool of chakra thread on his left hand to make sure he wouldn't run into things. It would take him a while to remember where everything was.

His mind was reeling at what he'd just been told. Naruto wasn't to become just a god, he was to replace the grandfather? He was to become Fate? His cousins, those annoying, rambunctious, obnoxious godlings that he'd grown so used to….they were to become the new monsters? The new seeds of discord in the world? They were the most frustrating, infantile 'godlings' that Sasuke could possibly have imagined but…they were _his_ cousins. All they were going to become were mindless demons, vile creatures, that's sole purpose was to be a source of chaos in the world? But Kyuubi, his Aunts and Uncles, they all joined the garden somehow after that suffering…

"Good, you're up," Naruto's voice made him jump, "I was about to wake you."

"Dobe-"

"We have 'lunch' with the sandaime in half an hour and you should get dressed."

"Naruto-"

"God damnit, sorry dad, I can't believe I let myself get dragged into this, I bet all he's going to do is interrogate you for hours, and try to separate us or something, and I don't care what grandpa says, I'll kill him!"

"NARUTO!" Sasuke shouted.

"What?!"

Sasuke shook his head; he loosed some of his chakra threads and threw them in the direction of the dobe's voice. When his webbing told him where Naruto's face was, Sasuke tried to face that direction.

"There's something you need to know, I just had a vision of your father," Sasuke started, "our life in the eternal garden isn't going to be exactly what we thought it was going to be."

"What's happened?"

"It's not what's happened, it's what's going to happen."

With the chakra webbing still tangled and twined around the dobe's form, Sasuke could see Naruto's face contort into a grimace. He was expecting the worst.

"These worlds we're in are going to be gone, they're going to be destroyed and your father and your aunts and uncles are going to become the new worlds."

"I won't…I won't even get to live with my family?" Naruto bit out, "All this time my dad, and you, have told me that I'll get to have a family and I won't? I'm going to lose them to some sort of apocalypse?!"

"Our cousins will become demons in those worlds and you…you're going to replace your grandfather."

"What? Why?" Naruto was staring at him dumbly, "Replace him as what?"

"As Fate."

Naruto gaped at him at first, and then he sobered. He shook his head and let out a bitter laugh.

"What will that make you, huh? Mrs. Fate?" Sasuke's jaw clenched, "Will we have little godlings too? They'll grow up and have children, and their children will replace us, and worlds will be born and will die for the rest of eternity…"

"Naruto, shut up-"

"…what kind of eternity is that? What's the point? What's the meaning? If all we work to create will die? What's the point of being Fate, of being a god, if you still die in the end?"

"_Naruto_, stop."

Naruto sighed, and stared at the floor, "Sorry, I suppose we have to keep playing these parts until we leave, right? Go get dressed."

"Dobe, you're not, you're not listening to me," Sasuke walked over to him, "It'll be fine, stop thinking about it. Why don't you think about this stupid lunch we're going to?"

"What, you want me to be even _more_ angry?"

Sasuke smirked, a laugh growing in his throat, finally escaping as a mere chuckle. Naruto smiled and kissed him.

* * *

"What are you doing, teme?"

"Experimenting with my chakra webs."

"By putting them in your feet?"

"Yes."

Naruto rolled his eyes. They were walking through town now, heading towards the Hokage's tower to meet up with the sandaime. He was happy his mate had found a way to cope with his blindness. But it was getting annoying that they were moving so slow because Sasuke wanted to test some things out. At the moment he was pushing his chakra threads he'd been using to see through his feet and into the ground. It meant that he moved at a snail's pace, his head turning this way and that as the webs in the ground brought into view everything around them. He couldn't see anything past the tops of the buildings they passed, but it was pretty good for someone without eyes. Naruto admitted it was a pretty impressive feat. At this rate however they'd be at the hokage's tower three hours late.

"Sasuke, can't you limit the scope of those threads enough that you don't move so slow?"

"Shut up, dobe, if the hokage cares so much he can wait."

"Don't make me carry you."

"You wouldn't dare humiliate the cripple, would you, crazy boy?"

They glared at each other. Well, Naruto glared, Sasuke just turned to face him, his mouth twisted into a scowl. Their shuffling continued all the way to the tower, and though they weren't three hours late, as Naruto had predicted, they were a fair forty minutes late. Sasuke's pace had improved after the first few minutes of his experimenting and they'd been able to move at a leisurely walk.

"Ah, there you are," the sandaime greeted from behind his desk, "I was beginning to wonder where you'd gotten off to."

"Sorry to keep you waiting, sir," Naruto smiled apologetically while Sasuke smirked at him, "now, where would you like to eat?"

"Oh I think Moritake's will be fine, have you heard of it?"

"You could say that," Naruto nodded, thinking back to his second life and how his mother took him and Sasuke there. The food hadn't been bad.

The old man rose out of his chair and edged his way around the desk. Together the three of them left the office and made their way to the base of the tower. Idle chit chat flitted between them slowly and awkwardly. The air was stagnant due to Naruto being the only one of the two that made an effort at conversation with the old man. Sasuke remained silent because he knew there was nothing to say.

Once they'd been seated by the host, thoughtlessly Naruto and the hokage began to scan their menus. It took Naruto a moment to realize that Sasuke's head was turned so the blindfolded face was staring impassively at him.

"Tell me what there is to order," Sasuke said dryly.

Naruto flushed with embarrassment. Sasuke had been so functional on his own so far Naruto had forgotten that his webs couldn't read for him. Idly he started going over the menu for his mate, and after he'd finished, Sasuke decided he didn't want anything, except for some tea, and ice water. Naruto rolled his eyes, but otherwise didn't say anything. Inwardly Naruto decided to order dumplings for his mate to pick off once he'd realized that he was hungry and being bitchy would get him nowhere.

"So," the sandaime started, "have you two thought about what you're going to do as civilians?"

Naruto wanted to shake the man. When would they have thought of this? Sasuke had only been out of the hospital for a day now. But still Naruto made an effort to be mature and simply answer the question.

"Well, we honestly haven't decided yet, considering we've only had a chance to be home together for a day now."

"It's nice to see you two so close, though it's unfortunate the circumstances that brought you together."

Naruto was saved from responding to such a statement by the arrival of their server who asked them if they were ready to order. Sasuke remained silent while the hokage and Naruto ordered. The server collected their menus and hurried off to tend to other tables and to fetch their drinks.

It was easy to forget that they weren't supposed to be this comfortable with each other. Technically they were supposed to hate each other and be bickering constantly. They still bickered, but they didn't hate each other.

"Well, you know there are plenty of perfectly respectable careers for you two to pursue in the civilian side of things-"

"Maybe we don't want careers, don't you think?" Sasuke interrupted gruffly, "He can't be hokage now, and I can't avenge anyone. I have all the money I could need in this lifetime from my inheritance, we can live as bums."

Naruto snorted, his lips rolling inward as he restrained from laughing. The server arrived with their drinks, and Naruto gladly took his soda and hid his amusement by sipping from it. Sasuke ignored the Hokage's blithely inquisitive babble as he figured out how to pour his own tea. He draped the table in chakra webs and set some tea leaves into his cup before pouring scalding hot water into it, not spilling a drop onto the table.

The rest of the visit continued on with Naruto being polite and respectful, evading questions or statements he wanted to avoid. Sasuke spoke only when it suited him, and only in the bluntest of ways.

Naruto thanked the Hokage for covering the tab and bade him goodbye. He watched the old man stride from the restaurant with a distinctly stiff posture. _That didn't go very well_, he thought.

"C'mon, teme, now that you've annoyed the crap out of him I'm sure you're just all fun'd out."

"Hn." Sasuke smirked.

Together they made their way outside, and as Sasuke turned and started heading for home Naruto stopped. Everything was a dark charcoal grey, and hard to see, when he looked up, the sky was gone.

TBC…


	34. Hysteria: Chapter 6

**Um:** ...Happy ending, it's coming. Two chapters left! Har har!

* * *

**Fate's Garden**

Part 4 - Hysteria

Chapter 6 - Everything Can Hurt

* * *

"Um…Sasuke," Naruto called, staring up at what had been the sky; now a fathomless grey, dark and heavy like a thick blanket.

"What is it dobe?" Sasuke turned and looked back at him.

"The sky's gone."

"Hah, now you know how I feel."

"No, I mean really, it's…is this what my dad meant?"

"I didn't say that I didn't believe you, I just don't care. I can't see the sky either, now come on, let's get home."

Naruto took Sasuke's outstretched hand, allowing himself to be led by the blind boy with chakra feet. As they were shuffling towards the apartment Naruto wondered if the people around him noticed. He peered at them, and they all seemed happy, or as normal as could be. Everything was a bit fuzzy around the edges, and becoming less clear. Things distorted into notions of what they had been. Naruto wasn't sure he liked it. He knew he didn't like this whole concept of not having a family.

He knew it wasn't Sasuke's fault, it wasn't; he was just the messenger. But why had his father decided this? Why was he to become Fate? Why did the worlds need to be cleansed? What was wrong with them? Naruto didn't understand. One of the things that had kept him going through these lives, and kept him learning his lessons, had been the excitement of having a family to go home to. The thought of that utopia that awaited, filled with cousins and aunts and uncles, and his father, his grandfather…and mate. That's what he wanted, and he wanted it so bad it hurt. Now he didn't get to have it? No rhyme or reason behind it, it had just been snatched from his eager fingers just like that that.

_Dad?_ Naruto thought, _Are you listening to me?_

There was no reply.

_You have to be right? I mean, gods are omnipotent, you know everything there is to know and that includes what I'm thinking right now, _Naruto tried to steady his fast beating heart. Sasuke was leading him up the stairs now.

_Why? Why is this happening? Why are you leaving me, why is grandpa, and the rest of the family…dying? I know they're becoming something else, but, really, that's what it'll be like. My entire family dying._

Sasuke picked the key out of Naruto's pocket and used it to unlock the apartment door. He pulled Naruto inside and over to the couch for what he guessed was a nap.

_There has to be another way. The worlds don't have to be gotten rid of? Right? I mean, if they're unclean, why don't we clean them? We're gods, grandpa's Fate, can't we clean the mess we've made? Isn't throwing it away sort of like…giving up? It's a cop out._

Naruto found himself laid down on the couch, his mate nestled on top of him, head tucked under his chin. He listened to the quiet. A look outside the living room window showed him nothing but gray. There was nothing now. The worlds were ending. Why would they end while they, the new Fate were still in them?

_Dad, you have to understand, this is idiotic and senseless. This can't be set in stone, I know it can't._

"You stubborn childe."

Naruto's head turned, and sitting on the coffee table was a large orange fox. It was glaring. Naruto glared back.

"You are still mortal, you do not understand."

"You're right, I don't understand, and I don't think I will, even if I am a god! This is stupid!" Naruto wondered if Sasuke could hear what they were saying. His breathing was even, and he gave off every impression of one who was fast asleep.

"It is not, stupid. The worlds are tainted; a new slate is not an option."

"It is so an option, and a really crappy one!"

"Childe-"

"Shut up, Dad! You're wrong, grandpa's wrong, and you know it!"

"How can Fate be wrong?"

"Really easy!"

The fox lethargically arched a brow at him and Naruto paused, "Well, okay maybe not wrong but lazy! He's not trying to fix what he fucked up he's just throwing it all away!"

"Why don't you tell him this yourself?"

"I'd be-"

Naruto shuddered at the transition, finding himself in the garden, "-glad to."

There was color here, a sky, grass, water, and the air was warm. It was everything the world still should be for the mortals. Instead it had become this sky-less grey monstrosity. It was fading, and Naruto hated it. He glowered at the old man who appeared, sitting on the short red bench on the small island that was so familiar.

Naruto stomped right up to that laid back, calm little old man and grabbed him by the collar, hoisting him off his feet. Half-molded figurines fell from his hands and he stared into Naruto's eyes without fear or question. This lack of reaction only made him angrier.

"What you're planning is wrong!"

"Naruto," his grandfather began gently, "you have become very attached to the idea of your family, haven't you?"

Naruto scoffed, "Of course."

"Would you let the cleansing happen if your family remained?"

"Is that even possible?"

"Fate would die and there would be a new chaos."

"But wouldn't I take your place?"

"No, _Fate_ would cease to exist, and you gods would rule and create and mold at your whim. Create and destroy."

"It is a sense of transference, childe, if I am to absorb these tainted worlds, our energies would cancel out and no more fate, and no more worlds. Each of you would take a part of yourselves and create anew, and from above watch over them."

"You're lying, that's too good to be true."

"Why would I lie?"

"To trick me, to avoid taking responsibility for your mess," Naruto glared.

"Wouldn't my death be accountability?"

"Dying for some self-conceived sense of nobility is not accountable, it is immature and selfish, and I find it funny that _Fate_ could be both."

"What would you have me do?" his grandfather asked him, still held in his clutches, "Destroy the worlds and suffer? I cannot suffer, I see, know, hear, understand everything, I am more than flesh and pain, you cannot hurt me."

Naruto at first felt powerless, holding the old man a good four feet off the ground. This man, more, this entity, this strange being, that was his father's father, was horrible and poisoned. He was lying, the worlds weren't bad, he could feel it. There was nothing wrong with them. Everything could be hurt, even if it wasn't in the true sense of the word. As he glared at his grandfather, it came to him.

"Yes, I think I can."


	35. Hysteria: Chapter 7

**Heeee:** YES! Happy ending! Well, technically we've got a chapter/epilogue left that I know you guys will like. :D I'm so excited! I have to go do moar homework now and bake cookies with my mommy, but you'll prolly get the last chapter by the end of the day.

* * *

**Fate's Garden**

Part 4 - Hysteria

Chapter 7 - Home

* * *

Fate has knowledge of everything, and control of everything. He knows, sees, and hears…everything. Everything has its place and time, and even chaos suits his purpose because he ultimately knows how things will end.

Naruto turned, the man still in his grip, hanging ever so limply. He stared at the small pool of water surrounding the ever smaller island. Reflected in that water Naruto saw millions of lives, of worlds; all of them unique and wonderful and horrible in their own way. It was an elaborate menagerie, and Naruto found that he cared for all of it. People he was sure he'd never met in his lifetimes, worlds he'd never been to, unforgiveable crimes, unparalleled beauty, he loved all of it. They may be mortals, and inherently foolish, innately ignorant, but they were still beautiful creations. To wipe them all away to suit one's fancy was a crime in itself. Naruto wasn't going to let it happen.

At first he thought that he'd picked the world at random, but then perhaps Fate himself had led him to it. A world where all was good, and knowledge was trivial, confined in that world, with his omnipotence stripped from him, Fate would suffer. Naruto set the man down on the island, and he knelt on the soft grass, sweeping his hand through the cool water, the worlds looking like stars. He reached for the one he needed and when he scooped it out of the water it was a soft white glow resting in his palm. _All this time,_ Naruto thought, _here we were, drifting in a pond at Fate's feet._

As he stood, Naruto willed the light of this world in his palm to grow. Eventually it leapt from his hand and rested above the pond. The family was entering the garden in a steady trickle, curious about this awkward revolution. Naruto turned on his grandfather and found him where he'd dropped him. He was staring at the pond, expressionless. He picked him up again, and found him limp and unresisting.

"So this is your idea of a punishment?" Fate asked.

"You want mortals to be poison; you want them to be unclean. All you want is an endless cycle of destruction. Tell me, in your omnipotence, what I'm going to do to you?"

Fate opened his mouth to speak, and nothing came out. Naruto set his hand on the man's bald head and slowly lifted it up. Out came a dark shadow that twisted and twined around Naruto's wrist, and after it had been removed from his grandfather's head the man changed. He grew older somehow, his roundness turned to sharp angles, jutting out bones, and a skeletal frame. The illusion surrounding him disappeared all together and all that was left was his true disposition. A god without his powers.

"What am I going to do to you, grandfather?"

"…I…don't know. I don't know. I don't know!"

Naruto tossed him toward the light of the good world and he vanished, absorbed into the dimension. He took the world and let it shrink in his hands. At the moment it was disconnected from the others, there was no way that his grandpa could try and flee to another world. Holding the light of such an innately good collection of mortals and creatures and earth was an intense feeling. Though it was a good one, Naruto wasn't sure how much longer he could hold it.

"Childe, come with me," said an unfamiliar voice.

A tall man with long white rabbit ears, eight spindly white tails, and a strong jaw stood before him. His eyes held more wisdom than Naruto could tell Fate would have ever had, if he'd retained his powers.

"My name is Yuuta, I am your uncle," the man said.

Naruto smiled, "It's good to finally meet you."

"Son, there will be time for further introduction later, right now, you shall come with your Uncle and I," Kyuubi intoned, gesturing towards the gate leading out of the garden.

Naruto nodded, though his eyes couldn't help themselves, flying over the faces of his family. He saw Gaara, and Haku, and Zabuza, just like Sasuke had said. There were plenty of other people, well over twenty, but he didn't recognize them. He had the rest of eternity to know them. He followed his Uncle Yuuta and his father out of the garden and into a vast plain. They walked in silence, Naruto holding the good world, and Fate's power twining around his wrist, crawling and twisting constantly.

They passed through an invisible barrier and entered a jungle, and on they walked. They passed through another wall and found salt plains and bog lands. They found a cave filled with magma and a heat more powerful than any Naruto had experienced. They walked through a river filled with dams expertly constructed out of sticks, larger than any he'd ever seen. They walked through a dusky swamp, past a deep dark cave. An endless meadow with a soft fog and tall grass and flowers, and even after they passed through another barrier it continued though with a noticeably tall tree stump. Then they were in a forest that reminded Naruto of his fox life, of his den and his mate and kits. But they moved past that even, and now the three of them stood on a cliff, looking out at a gaping chasm filled with the overwhelming grey that had taken over Sasuke's and his last life.

"Childe, you have done a remarkable thing," Yuuta said.

Naruto blushed, feeling as though this compliment, though ordinary, meant far more coming from his uncle.

"The power on your wrist," Yuuta snatched it off of him and held it still despite its want to writhe, "is a horrible power, and it was never meant to be used."

"What do you mean?"

"Originally the garden was all that existed in our realm, and it was filled with spirits, some more potent than others."

"One such spirit grew and grew and eventually became Time, he gathered the other spirits and sent them into the sacred pool from which you so easily plucked that world. So the worlds were created."

"But when the worlds were created they were all the same, all good, none bad," Yuuta's eyes were riveted on the strand of darkness held taught between his clenched fists, "so Time put poison in the pool, he called his poison freedom, and when he knew that all the worlds were no longer only good he wept. His tears being from him created Time in the worlds and as they were sporadic some worlds sped up and some slowed down, not all were even."

"Time realized that he would need to enter the worlds himself to put his nature fully into all of the worlds. So he took a part of himself and created our father, and gave him his power of creation and destruction, of knowledge. He told our father to watch over the worlds for him in his absence."

"But the power he'd been given corrupted him and gave him an idealistic sense of the filth of mortals, he believed that the pools should have never been corrupted. He destroyed so many worlds that eventually there were only what is left now and so Time himself, his nature became diluted and not as strong in the worlds as he was. Eventually he was only an illusion that the mortals, not knowing any other way, continued to function under. Time was all that kept the worlds completely separate."

"When our father destroyed so many worlds, and the sense of Time, the worlds lost most of their uniqueness. Though they are split and different in ways, all of the mortals are now duplicates of each other. This is why you could leap from world to world and find yourself in the body of another version of yourself."

Yuuta kept a firm grip on the darkness as he lifted it over his head and threw it down into the grey, far out of sight. The grey became tangible, it shook and groaned, a rumble growing beneath their feet. Then it went bursting into the air like a geyser of water, soon spiraling down, and down, disappearing into a drain hole of matter. All that was left beyond the cliff was a pure white, an endless plain of pure energy.

"Uncle how did you know all of this?" Naruto asked, staring at the vastly changed canyon. Though he couldn't see another side to it, he felt as if there was one, it was just teasingly beyond his vision.

"The story itself is ingrained in the garden, we have always known it, but our father suppressed the knowledge with his illusions," Kyuubi explained in his brother's stead.

"Childe, give me the world, please," Yuuta held out his hands reverently, and Naruto was glad to be relieved of it, its feeling of good was so strong.

Yuuta approached the edge and let it world slip from his hands, tumbling down into the white. Naruto gasped, hurrying to his uncle's side and gaping down, trying to find the world but he couldn't, his eyes couldn't focus with the bright energy that flooded his vision.

"What did you do with it?"

"I sealed it shut and returned it to its source, it isn't dead. It is out of our hands so that we may not unleash its prisoner by some foolish folly."

Naruto felt himself calm down as his Uncle's hand settled on his shoulder and pulled him away from the edge. His father and his uncle draped their arms around his shoulders and led him back through the different homes of his cousins and aunts and uncles. Once they'd reached the garden again, Naruto was welcomed by his family…and his mate.

Sasuke was sitting on the grass, laughing, and talking eagerly with his cousins. He looked just as he had in their very first life, before they'd died, but now he was dressed in elegant black robes with a crimson sash tied around his waist. When he saw Naruto he smiled, sincerely, genuinely smiled, and waved him over. All of his cousins grinned and greeted him with jovial shouts of 'Hey cousin!'

Naruto hurried over, careening onto the ground and into Sasuke's arms, holding him tight. He was pulled into a conversation easily, finding himself comfortable, his cousins offering their names as they put forth points here and there. Their parents were gathered on another side of the garden, speaking happily about something, though a little more subdued then their children. Naruto knew he'd made the right choice. Now, now he was home.


	36. Hysteria: Chapter 8

**Alright!:** This is the official end, it's just sort of a keen snippet for those of you who might actually care about the life they originally came from. :) The lives are over, this story is over and I can call it complete! Thanks for stickin' with it for so long, I'm going to take a deep breath and wait hopefully a day before I start on my next story.

* * *

**Fate's Garden**

Part 4 - Hysteria

Chapter 8 - Someday

* * *

Sakura knelt on the cold dirt, eyes locked on the two graves before her. It had been over thirty years since then. She was forty-eight and had teenagers of her own, and a husband, a good one. Sai had surprised her with his sympathy, and his want to comfort her. For the longest time after Naruto and Sasuke's death Sakura hated Sai with all of her heart. She loathed him, him and his (what had seemed to her then) sarcasm, his false emotions. But then one day…just like that, she realized that he really was trying to help her, he was trying to learn feelings, to learn to make bonds with people. From then on it was as natural as breathing, being with Sai. Now she was married to him, had been for twenty-three years, and her children were seventeen, twelve, and eight. Hikiyo, Kayla, and Suoh. Two boys and a girl, not exactly what she'd expected, and certainly not what she'd dreamed of when she was little, but it was wonderful all the same.

Her love for Naruto, and for Sasuke even after all he'd done, was still alive even if they weren't. She would always love them, and always miss them. Being the sole survivor of your genin team was not an easy thing. It was a cold, shut off sort of pain and people treated you differently. They treated you as if you would break at any moment, and Sakura believed back then she very well might. But then she picked up her training with reckless abandon and worked and worked and worked, until she became the head medic nin of Konoha. By now she was a shining gem on a strand of Tsunade's achievements.

It was really Kakashi-sensei that had kept her going, him and Sai, and Tsunade-sama. Kakashi had, after all, lost his team as well, only he'd also lost his teacher. They clung to each other in an oddly emotionless way until they could stand on their own.

"Miss?"

Sakura whirled around, startled. Sasuke and Naruto's graves were in a more secluded area of the graveyard, so usually she didn't run into anyone here. Behind her were two tall men, one blond with blue eyes, and the other with black hair and brown eyes. They weren't them, they couldn't be, and their faces were different. But…

Sakura shook her head, tears springing to her eyes. Of all the miserable coincidences. She stood up and wiped her eyes.

"Sorry to have disturbed you, but, we thought maybe you'd dropped this?" the blond smiled apologetically, holding out a familiar satin coin purse.

Sakura took it from him in relief, not noticing she'd lost it, "Thank you, and…its okay. It's a public graveyard after all."

"But all the same, grieving is sacred, and private," the black haired one said, taking the arm of the other and pulling him along down the path, back towards the main gates.

Sakura watched after them, two men, arms wrapped around each other, walking in a public cemetery. She blinked a few times at the oddness of it, and looked down at her coin purse. It was white with crimson and orange koi fish on it, Sai had gotten it for her recently while he was away on a mission in another village. He said it had reminded him of her. But, it was fuller than she remembered.

Her nimble fingers pressed at it, feeling an odd lump within the soft satin that hadn't been there before. She opened the purse and found a small paper, rolled up and tied with a bit of red string. Sakura looked up, towards the main path where the strange couple had gone and found that they must have picked up their leisurely pace, or taken another route. They were out of sight already.

Carefully Sakura pulled the string off the end of the paper and unrolled it.

_Dear Sakura-chan,_

_We know you are sad for us still, and it hurts us to know that. But we are glad to see how strong you've become! You're the head medic-nin now? Wow! Sasuke's impressed, even though he's scowling and trying to be a stupid teme. We think you should stop being sad now, I mean, look at how much you have to not be sad for! Besides, we're fine. I'm sitting next to a pond filled with stars as I'm writing this, and my cousins and Sasuke are talking about something with the adults, and…I'm getting off topic here. I know it must have been odd, but, slipping this note in your purse was the only way we could think of to get it to you. It was all we could do to not hug you when we handed your purse over to you, but, I think just reading this will freak you out enough. No need to make it worse, though Sasuke said that maybe it would have been more fun that way. _

_Maybe we'll see you again someday,_

_Love,_

_Naruto & Sasuke _

End of Part 4.

**_Fin_**


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